Uninvited Guests
by Willowsticks
Summary: Richard finds himself the recipient of some unwanted family attention and begins to loosen up a little - much to the delight of Camille...
1. Chapter 1

**Ok – I was meant to finish this before I started posting, but I seem to have hit a wall...anyway, please read it with a pinch of salt, it might clash with your views of Richard's family or his character in general but it's meant to be a bit of fun and a new slant on the story. Let me know what you think!**

The team was in a jovial mood, returning to the station after closing a case of minor burglary. Dwayne had been left guarding the station and nursing his hangover, but the usual laughing and joking came from Fidel and Camille while Richard was doing his best to ignore them, concentrating instead on not passing out from the heat and humidity. He was desperate to make it back to the station and some cold water, where he could finally take his jacket off, he only hoped that he hadn't begun to sweat through his shirt. He was therefore the first one to stop on hearing music coming from the station, and was rewarded by the rest of the team walking into him.

"Richard..." Camille was about to begin her chastisement when he held up a hand and shushed her. She was gearing up to give him a dressing down but Richard beat her to it.

"The music," was all he said by way of a perplexed explanation.

"So? Dwayne always plays music when he's on his own. You're not going to discipline him for that are you?" Her voice had taken on an incredulous tone which was ignored by her superior.

"Don't be ridic..." he stopped realising that she was unintentionally sidetracking him from his original thought. "Just...give me five minutes will you."

"But Richard..."

"I'm not going to cause any problems ok – just five minutes, I have a feeling"

She nodded confused but let him go watching him jog gently up the steps before turning to Fidel. "A feeling? He's kidding right?"

He did have a feeling, an email that he had received the previous day, not much to go on, just dropped hints, which he had put down to the usual banter. But what if there was something in it? At the top of the steps, he stopped and put his head through the door. Dwayne barely noticed his presence, his forehead was covered with an ice pack and his eyes were closed. The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary so far was the music. It wasn't the usual laid back rhythm of the Caribbean. It was decidedly European in its nature and while Dwayne didn't look bothered by the change it was something he clearly wouldn't have chosen for himself.

Richard stepped further into the station and did another scan. The only parts that he now couldn't see were his desk and the cells. There was nothing new in this; no one could see his desk from the door. He put his nose in the air and sniffed. Cigarette smoke. He gave a small huff of laughter and ventured to Dwayne's desk to turn off the radio. That caught his attention. Dwayne's eyes flickered open and gave his superior a cheeky grin. Richard returned it with rather a more shrewd look and motioned for him to leave the station. With a grudging and laboured effort Dwayne took his leave, he had been rather hoping to see the chief's reaction.

A distinct thump coming from around the corner confirmed his suspicions. He bit back a smile and took a step forward.

A man in his mid 30s with green eyes and unruly dark hair, beginning to recede slightly at the temple, was staring back at him nonchalantly. His was leaning back in Richard's chair, his hands behind his head, his feet on Richard's desk, and a cigarette dangling from his mouth. His smile grew wider by way of a greeting.

They stayed looking at each other for a few moments, one grinning inanely and the other trying to look stern but failing miserably. It was Richard who spoke first. "Your feet are on my desk." He was roundly ignored, so Richard rolled his eyes and tried again. "What are you doing here Jamie?"

"If I told you I missed you, would you believe me?"

"There's always a first time."

"How about if I told you I wanted a free holiday?"

Richard bit back another smile. "I take it from that comment that I have the pleasure of your company for at least a week?"

"Problem?" He took a drag on the cigarette.

"That depends on how you behave while you're here." He sighed resignedly. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you're not paying for your own accommodation."

"Why would I pay for a room when my big brother lives on the island?"

"Because I live in a shack and have a double bed! I told you that ages ago – you never listen to me!"

"I listen! I just figured you could take the sofa and I'd have the bed"

Richard narrowed his eyes. "I don't have a sofa, pillock."

"I guess we're sharing a bed then."

"Floor."

"Ok. For half the week. Then we switch."

"It's not a negotiation Jamie. I have work. You have the floor. If you don't like it go to a hotel. Look I don't really see what the problem is, you should be used to sleeping on the floor." He muttered under his breath, "Army Rat."

"Yeah? Better than Filth."

"You watch your language."

"You started it." He huffed a little more considering his options. "Fine. But if I bring a girl back, I get the bed."

Richard's expression at this statement twisted immediately into one of revulsion. "Quite aside from the idea of you sharing sheets with me being disgusting, it is totally inappropriate to bring a random girl back to my house! And what the hell happened to Jules?" He was spluttering now, not letting his brother get a word in edgeways. "And I'm not having this conversation with you. If in the unlikely event you have messed up your life and you need to you yourself a girl then you sort it out, but you don't bring her back to mine."

Jamie was finding it difficult to contain his glee. "Relax Richard. I was only winding you up. I'd forgotten how easy it is. It's like you've never been away." Richard harrumphed and Jamie took his feet down from the desk taking another drag. "You look crap by the way."

"Thanks."

"I'm serious. You look as though you're about to have a heart attack or something. You need to loosen up. Wear something a little lighter before you die from the heat."

"There is nothing lighter, I don't exactly have an extensive wardrobe and I doubt I would cool down even if I ran naked through the streets. It's too bloody hot."

"Then take your jacket off, roll up your sleeves and get rid of your tie...at least until you've cooled down a little."

"Fine." Richard took both off immediately, feeling the small black spots disappearing from his eyes as he did so and his mood changing infinitesimally for the better.

"Better?" He was rewarded by an almost imperceptible nod. "Good. You know I did bring some of your "holiday" clothes with me." He used the customary air quotes with a sense of irony, knowing that the only holiday Richard really liked was a cold one and that the clothes he had brought with him would most likely stay in his case.

"Oh?"

"Just some extra shirts."

"Right..."

"And some shorts and trunks. I thought we'd go to the beach..."

Richard cut him short. "Thanks but I really don't think there'll be time. My work..." He trailed off.

Jamie rolled his eyes, took a final drag then leant forward and stubbed his cigarette out on a stack of post it notes, knowing that it would annoy his brother. He was right and grinned naughtily at the scowl that he received. He went back to studying Richard. Then got up, sat on the desk and swung his legs around in one smooth motion so that he was no longer behind the desk but sitting on the front of it, hearing Richard muttering something about him being a child. He scooted up a little to ensure that there was enough space for Richard to perch next to him, then watched as he took his place.

"You know, you're hair's pretty terrible too. The least you could do is stick it up a bit."

His reward for his bluntness was a glare. "It doesn't stay up because of the heat. Do you honestly think I like looking like a monk?" He ran his hands through his hair at the front, trying in vain to put some life back into it and succeeded a little, probably due to the amount of sweat that was on his brow. "Anyway, I don't know why you're laughing, this'll be you in a couple of years." His brother looked suitably chastened.

They sat in silence for a while and Richard knew that time was running out and that the team would need to sate their curiosity soon. He wasn't really sure what he wanted to talk to his brother about but knew that he wasn't ready to share him with the others just yet. He pushed his hands deep in his pockets and searched around for some small talk.

"How's mum?"

"Alright I guess. She misses her favourite boy."

"I highly doubt that."

"Honestly, the way she goes on about you, you'd think she only has one child."

"Well, only one that counts, I suppose."

"Oi." His brother tried to nudge him off the desk. Richard nudged him back and knew that it was the closest that either of them was going to come to admitting that they were both pleased to see each other.

"You know, seeing as you're still not seeing anyone, I thought that you could introduce me to some of the locals, and help get me out of trouble if the need arises."

"No. No trouble. Not here Jamie, it's too small. The last thing I need is you leaving a trail of broken hearts behind you while I have to clean everything up."

"I'll just have to go it alone then." Jamie sighed theatrically and fished a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, opened it and tapped one up for him then offered the pack to Richard. "Want one?"

Richard gave him an exasperated look. "Don't do that."

"What?"

"You know what. Stop being annoying."

Jamie giggled like a school boy and put his cigarette away. "Richie, has anyone told you that giving up smoking has turned you into a real grump?"

"Yes, you have. Frequently. And you aren't allowed to smoke in here." He lowered his voice and looked a little embarrassed. "Can you also do me a favour and stop calling me Richie? Just around here."

"Why?"

"Because, I don't want everyone to know, it's embarrassing."

"Why is it embarrassing?"

"It just is ok?" He wasn't sure if he was ready to admit that he didn't want his team teasing him over such an intimate detail, well actually just one member of his team.

"Fine, but it's going to be trickier when the others get here."

"What others?"

"You didn't honestly think it was just me did you?"

"You are joking aren't you?"

"Erm, well it was sort of meant to be a surprise."

"Shit. You know I'm not going to be able to take holiday at a day's notice don't you."

"Ah, I'm sure you'll work something out...They're not coming until tomorrow anyway, so you have a day and then you're rid of me. Contrary to what you think of me I have actually booked my own hotel room." Jamie let him digest the news a little then said hopefully, "pick you up later then?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No. Well then, I'll leave these for you," grinning, he put the cigarette packet on Richard's desk, "and I'll see you later..."

And with that he walked out calling a cheery "Morning!" to Camille and the others who had decided to inspect the quiet coming from the station for themselves. All three stood looking at Richard who was trying desperately to stop the blush that was already spreading to his cheeks under Camille's steady gaze.


	2. Chapter 2

**Published early especially for Million Moments...**

Dwayne had already clued them in a little but she made a sign to the others not to crowd him, knew that they wouldn't get answers from him if he thought that they were interrogating him.

"Who was that?"

She tried to sound as casual as possible. Camille already knew from Dwayne's deduction but wanted him to confirm it, given that in the five minutes that Richard had been gone he had changed completely. She could hardly believe that the man leaning against the desk in front of her was the same one who had walked into the office a few moments ago. Now that his jacket and tie had been discarded, he looked more relaxed, more confident and in control, less swamped by life. His hair was also different, it was no longer pulled forward over his forehead but had been pushed back, making him look younger. The change highlighted his cheekbones, his jaw line, it drew her attention to his lips, made his eyes look brighter. She suddenly felt very hot, and put her hand to the back of her neck to lift her hair. The action was noticed by Richard.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, and he dropped his gaze again. She was embarrassed that he had caught her flustered by his new appearance and removed her hand. She was also confused at how seeing so little of his skin could have such an effect on her, it was the first time she had seen his arms, his shirt sleeves having had been rolled up, and was surprised by how toned they were. She had heard from the boys that he wasn't in bad shape and was beginning to get a glimpse of that from the small amount of his chest that she could see thanks to the top two buttons of his shirt being undone. She was willing to bet that he had only meant to undo his top one, but then it was so unlike him to be in any state of undress that perhaps it had been on purpose, the way his slim fit shirt clung to his body wasn't doing much to dispel her theory either. She batted away his concern with practised indifference. "I probably need some water. Richard?" She waited until she had his attention again, "who was that?"

"Jamie." He tried to be dismissive, but realised that she was still staring at him waiting for him to elaborate. "My brother."

"You have a brother?"

"Clearly." He was embarrassed by her questioning, his hand moving to push his hair back again.

She willed herself not to trail her eyes down towards his lips. "Ok. It's just you haven't really mentioned him. Actually, you've never mentioned him." He gave her a look which queried why that would be a problem, and she bit her tongue. She wanted to ask him why the hell he hadn't mentioned his brother before now, but knew that if she went down that route she'd never get any additional information out of him. Instead she said, "he looks a lot like you."

"Yes, a lot of people say that."

"Is he staying long?"

"I think about a week."

"Oh." She leant against the wall. "What's he like?" Richard was clearly struggling to find words to describe his brother. She tried again. "Is he like you?"

"Um. I suppose so. Sort of. Actually, probably not, no." He was stumbling, then suddenly seemed to remember where he was and who he was talking to. His hand went to this throat, presumably to straighten his tie and realised with a jolt that he wasn't wearing it. His hand slid further down and his nervousness turned into panic as he realised that two of his shirt buttons were undone. He seemed lost for a few moments before frantically patting his pockets in a desperate attempt to try and locate it whilst retreating behind his desk, putting as much space between him and Camille as possible.

When he had finally found it he cleared his throat, "um, well we should probably get back to work," and Camille knew that she would get no more out of him.

For Richard, the end of the day couldn't come soon enough and for once he was ready and waiting outside the station as soon as work ended, not before stuffing the packet of cigarettes deep into his pocket, hoping frantically that none of his team mates had seen them. He had actually walked a little way from the station, away from the prying eyes that he knew were watching him, waiting for another glimpse of his brother. He walked towards him as soon as he saw he was coming up the hill, signalling for him to turn around and go back the way he had come and fell in step with him.

"I see the jacket and tie made a reappearance then?" Richard didn't say anything in the vain hope that he would be able to keep them. "Give them here."

With a sigh Richard slipped the jacket off his shoulders, and loosened his tie, being careful to only open the top button of his shirt as he did so. He wasn't going to relinquish his clothing quite so easily this time and only hoped that Jamie wasn't going to make him undress in public. Not here. In London, or to be honest, anywhere where he could blend in with the crowd he was happy to defer to his brother's demands, but here people would stare. They would laugh at his pathetic attempts to try and blend in with the crowd. It was too small an island, there were too few people, he was too different to everyone. He didn't have anyone who would accept him for who he was. Not for the first time did he wish for the anonymity of London again, a city where no one would give him a second glance.

He was in luck. It seemed to satisfy Jamie who confiscated the jacket, glancing as he did so at Richard's sleeves which were still firmly around his wrists. He seemed to realise that he was fighting a losing battle though as he made no mention for him to roll them up. It was a short walk to La Kaz and there were almost at the bar by the time that Richard had divested and handed his clothing over to Jamie.

Camille had intended on staying at the station to do some additional work, but pen in hand and staring at her growing pile of paperwork she had found herself increasingly thinking of the two Poole boys. She couldn't deny that over the past few months she had found herself growing increasingly attracted to Richard, in spite of his attempts to push her away. On his initial arrival she had found him to be grumpy, no worse than that, downright disagreeable. He was difficult, ill tempered and argumentative. He had initially made no attempt to integrate with his colleagues or to even make friends, seemingly going out of his way to be rude to them. She had viewed him as a pathetic shadow of a man, wedded to his work, too afraid to live life, fearful that it might bring about the disapproval of those around his whose opinion he seemingly neither wanted or cared for.

But gradually, as she had learnt more about him, she had found her opinions changing. Beneath his cantankerous shell lay a man of many depths. He was kind and sweet but inherently shy, preferring to hide behind a caricature of reserved Englishness, dismissing people's compliments with modesty, retreating from them with embarrassment rather than learning to trust new friendships. And no matter how much he professed to dislike the community he lived and worked in, it was clear that he genuinely cared. He always thought of others first, but just was careful not to let them know.

She knew his trouble was that he was deeply insecure, and had made every attempt to prove to him that he could trust her, rely on her, confide in her, and she had thought that she was gradually breaking through judging by those smiles that he occasionally flashed her way setting her heart a flutter. But she had also seen that when the two boys had been together Richard had blossomed in a way that he had never done with her. He had an air of self confidence that she hadn't noticed before and it had given her hope.

In many ways Jamie, at least at face value, was the man that she had always wanted Richard to be –at a glance he looked to be fun, outgoing, and charming, everything that Richard was not. Perhaps she should give up her ridiculous pursuit of him, she couldn't ever imagine Richard changing and couldn't even be sure that he would ever see her as anything more than a friend. In total contrast to his brother he seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders, almost worn out by the hand that life had dealt him. Perhaps someone like Jamie was a better match for her. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it would be like to feel his lips against hers, to run her fingers through his hair, feel the weight of him against her...she lost herself in her fantasy for a moment and when she came back to it she realised that it was no longer Jamie that she was kissing, but Richard, it was always Richard. She sighed and smiled to herself. Apparently, she now had no control over her thoughts either.

She pushed her quickening pulse to the back of her mind, knew she had to stop this. It was ludicrous. He was the same grumpy man he had always been, changing his clothes and hair slightly weren't going to make any difference to that. Hurling her pen to one side she got up and headed to the door.


	3. Chapter 3

"Richard! You look relaxed..." He shifted uncomfortably under a Bordey gaze for the second time that day. She smiled teasingly at him then turned her head to take in the other leaner, more bronzed, smiling Poole boy. "And who is this?" She knew exactly who it was, Camille had snuck out during the afternoon to put a call through to her mother and tell her the gossip.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, debating on whether he had enough time to make a run for it before realising that there was no way he was going to be able to get out of introducing them to each other. "Catherine, this is my brother, Jamie. Jamie this is Catherine." At least that was his job done. He knew, given Jamie's track record that all he had to do now was sit back and let the charm offensive start. He let his mind wander as Jamie smiled openly at Catherine, almost completely winning her over in the first second of their introduction.

He wished he had more patience with small talk, but the fact of the matter was that he just couldn't be bothered any more. It had been different once. He used to be fun, or he thought he had, but he couldn't help feeling that that was a long time ago. Things had changed. People were fickle, he knew that now, what was the point in trying to impress them when they came to the same conclusion about you regardless of your charm? He zoned back in on the conversation just in time to hear the punch line of some joke or story from their childhood which Catherine was laughing at uproariously. _Great_ he thought, _more ammunition for her to use against me. _

Jamie sensed Richard's unease and changed tact. "Just a couple of beers then please Catherine, we've got quite a bit to catch up on, but perhaps we can talk later?"

Catherine opened the fridge and took out two beers smiling as she handed them over. "On the house. A welcome present."

"Thank you!" Jamie winked at her.

Catherine shrugged off his thanks with a wave and the two boys made their way to a table at the back of the bar with Richard muttering, "free bloody beer? I never get free beer. That's outrageous. I've been here for years and never once been offered anything on the house – even tea - and that's essentially hot water and a tea bag. Doesn't exactly break the bank does it?"

Jamie let his brother tire himself up before saying, "drink your beer."

Richard did as he was told then looked his brother in the eye. "What exactly is it that you want to talk to me about."

Jamie at least had the grace to look slightly bashful at the fact that he was so easy to read. "It's Jules."

"You haven't done anything stupid have you? I thought you were joking before, you know about the other girls?"

"Of course I was joking you idiot. I'd never do that." Richard raised an eyebrow, "well, not to Jules."

Richard nodded. "So what is it then?"

"I was um...well I was thinking of asking her to marry me."

There was silence.

"Thinking?"

"Well actually, I've kind of made up my mind. What do you think?"

"What do you mean what do I think? It's great, Jules is great. What else did you expect me to say?" Richard gave his brother a rare full on smile.

"I thought you might try and talk me out of it..."

"No, I think I know a lost cause when I see one. I knew the second you introduced her to me." He took another swig of his beer. "She's the only woman who's ever been able to put you in your place."

Jamie seemed lost in happy memories.

"What do you need from me anyway – my blessing?"

"Well I don't need it, but it would be good to know that you think it's a good idea..."

Richard dismissed the last comment. In his opinion it didn't need discussing. He liked Jules and he liked that his brother was happy when he was with her. "Have you got a ring?"

"Not yet. I was wondering if I could have a family one?"

"Which one?"

"Alice's."

Richard huffed. "God, take it. I never want to see either of them again."

Jamie nodded silently then tried to lighten the mood a bit, "I um, thought you might say that, so I brought it with me..."

"You cheeky..."

Jamie cut in, "you just said you didn't want it!"

"Yeah, I didn't realise that you were intending on doing it so quickly! I suppose I thought you'd use the other one though, I mean it's not like I can ever have it again!"

"Yeah I know, but after what you did with it, it's probably cursed!"

Richard huffed and tried to look angry, not quite able to pull it off, he was too pleased at the fact that he was finally able to have a drink with his brother. He took another sip, finishing his beer. "So I guess it's not just family coming out this week then?"

"Family, plus Jules. That's why I wanted to come out a day early. Spend some time with you, you know, before the whole things kicks off..."

"You mean you wanted to manipulate me into giving up a family heirloom before carelessly ditching me for someone else. Don't worry it sounds familiar." He pulled himself together, "but if you get me another beer and I might try and forget what's just happened."

Jamie smiled, only too happy to oblige and bounded from the table towards the bar and back again in double quick time, seemingly excited by the news he had just discovered. He had barely time to sit down before he started talking again. "So apparently Catherine is Camille's mother,"

Richard was beginning to feel hot again, despite his missing suit jacket. "yes...

"and Camille should be in the bar soon..."

"Oh right..."

"She seems nice."

"Camille or Catherine?"

"Catherine. I haven't met Camille yet. Is she nice too? She looks nice." Richard feigned disinterest, suddenly becoming captivated by the label on his bottle of beer. "Richard?" Richard's head came reluctantly back up to meet his brother's stare. "Is Camille nice?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

"You suppose so? It's just that you've mentioned her quite a few times in emails." Richard was rubbing his forehead with his hand. "I suppose it's a coincidence that you forgot to mention that she's pretty hot?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not?"

"Because." He relented a little and dropped his voice. "Because nothing will ever happen, so what's the point in thinking about it?"

"Why would nothing happen?"

"Putting aside the fact that I don't want to go down that route again, you said it yourself. She is insanely beautiful."

Jamie smiled at Richard's upgrading of Camille's attractiveness. "So, you don't even want to try?"

"What's the point? What could possibly happen between the two of us?"

"Anything and nothing. Depends on whether you try."

Richard cradled his new drink. "I don't think I can go through it again Jamie. Quite aside from everything else, I just don't have the time for it. And if I do decide I want to risk it, the likelihood is that I get shot down and have to move back to London.

"Isn't that what you want?"

Richard shrugged. "I don't know anymore."

"What if she doesn't shoot you down?"

"It's against regulations and work comes first." The shutters had come down again. "Look, can we talk about something else?"

"Sure. Anything you like."


	4. Chapter 4

By the time that Camille reached the bar both Jamie and Richard were already on their third beers.

"Bonsoir Maman."

"Bonsoir Camille. Have you met the new boy?"

"Jamie? No not yet. What's he like?"

"He's sweet and charming. Not much like our Inspector."

"Mama...Richard can be sweet. He's just shy." Her mother raised an eyebrow. "You don't know him."

"And you do? Camille, he's a closed book. I don't know why you stick up for him so much." Camille shook her head and her mother sighed. She had initially found her daughter's crush on her boss quite sweet. However as the months went by and Camille's feelings towards Richard had showed no sign of abating she had begun to feel a certain amount of anxiety on her daughters behalf. Richard, in her opinion was not a good match for Camille, he would never be able to offer her the love that she needed, and no amount of blind dates were going to make her see that. She needed another option and was beginning to think that Jamie might be able to provide a solution. If Camille could spend some time with both of them perhaps the total contrast between them would make her realise that it was time to move on to someone more suitable.

"You know...it might be polite to show Jamie some of the sights on the island...Richard probably doesn't know them as well as you do. You could get to know him better."

"Maman, I'm sure that Richard will want to spend time with his brother without me."

"Perhaps. And perhaps you and Jamie could go on your own..."

"Maman!" Camille was indignant and also embarrassed that her mother had had the same thought as she had had earlier in the evening: that Jamie might be a better match for her.

"Um, sorry to interrupt but could I have another couple of beers please Catherine." Apparently Richard had deemed this the perfect time to arrive at the bar for a refill. Of course he had. Camille shot her mother an annoyed look for choosing the exact moment to try and set her up with Jamie when his brother was standing behind her. Hopefully he hadn't heard their last exchange, but judging from the expression on his face she was pretty sure that he had. They stood facing each other awkwardly, while Catherine disappeared for more beer; he wishing that Catherine would hurry up, and she wishing that she could find a way to turn back time so that he wouldn't think that she was interested in his brother. When Catherine finally came back, he collected the beers in silence, pausing to give her the briefest of nods and headed back to his table.

"That looked awkward." Richard shot him a quizzical look. "That is Camille at the bar right?" The comment had been designed as gently ribbing but on closer inspection he could see that Richard had lost all of the joviality of earlier. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"Jeez, you have got it bad."

Richard shook his head. "I said I'm fine!"

"Good. So nothing bad or embarrassing happened at the bar that might mean you don't want to see Camille again for a while."

"No...why?"

"Because she's coming over here."

"Oh God!" he managed to pull himself together enough to wipe the look of terror off his face as she slid into the chair.

She looked between them for a few moments drinking in the similarity between them despite the age difference before her gaze finally landed on the younger of the two. "So you must be Jamie."

"Indeed. And you must be Camille!" They sat grinning at each other, delighted that they had finally met, each feeling like they had uncovered a secret that Richard had been hiding. "I've heard a lot about you, but I'm guessing from your expression that you had no idea that I actually existed."

She winced slightly. "Sorry, would it help if I told you I am very glad that you do?"

"Perhaps."

Richard wriggled uncomfortably in his chair and frowned. He was used to Camille flirting with everyone but wasn't entirely comfortable with her doing it with his brother.

"So how long are you here for?"

"Ah, sadly just a week. It's pretty much all we could get off together.

"Together?" She looked at Richard positively gleeful as she guessed what was coming.

Richard sighed, "apparently my family have deemed it imperative that they come and embarrass me for a week. Nowhere is safe anymore Camille, even my being halfway around the world can't stop them."

"Come on they can't be that bad..."

"Yes they can." She shot him an exasperated look.

Jamie chipped in. "No really they can. You've never met our mother."

"And God willing never will."

Camille pouted. "That seems very unfair, you've met my mother."

Richard leant forward. "Trust me when I say Camille that your mother has nothing on ours. She is positively well balanced and actually thinks most of the time before opening her mouth, well most of the time."

"Oh so you and _your_ mother have something in common then." She knew she was being petulant but was beginning to feel a little like Richard was embarrassed of her_. Why didn't he want her to meet his mother?_

He glared at her, confused at her sudden abruptness. He usually had to do something wrong to warrant this sort of behaviour from her. He thought through their conversation but was pretty sure that they were on safe ground. She ignored him and turned back to his brother. "So what are you up to tomorrow?"

It seemed strange to see the lopsided smile that she so loved on Richard on another man's face, it seemed to come more easily to him but was no less disarming. "Trying to get Richard on to the beach, any tips?"

"Don't bother..."

Jamie sucked in air through his teeth "little harsh. But I think we can do better than that. I might be in with more of a chance if you were around."

Camille blushed, and then flushed even deeper when she realised she was angry at herself for the first reaction, she wasn't sure if he was asking for him or Richard. "Really? I'd have thought that would have put him off more than anything. I think he's terrified of me seeing him in anything other than a suit. Oh and his pyjamas!"

"His pyjamas?" Jamie feigned shock but knew the story already, if she had seen him in any other capacity other than an early pick up for work there certainly wouldn't have been pyjamas involved. She blushed again then laughed before they were interrupted by an aggrieved tone, "I am still here you know!"

Camille lowered her voice conspiratorially, "you know I don't think he actually owns any trunks."

"Yeah, I thought that might be the case, don't worry, I've brought him some with me..."

"Which I'm not wearing." Richard was adamant but somewhat cowed when Jamie glared at him from above his beer. He muttered again "I don't want to."

She teased him. "All things in life are sent to try us Richard."

"I know that, it just seems that I get more than my fair share of them."

"Oh stop being grumpy!"

"I'm not being grumpy."

"Yes, you are."

She looked over at Jamie who was smirking quietly into his beer and decided that it might be time to leave them alone before Richard's mood turned sour. She didn't want her invitation rescinded, whoever it had come from. She got up and thought she saw a look of disappointment cross Richard's face briefly. "I think Maman might need some help at the bar, I'll leave you two to catch up but um... hopefully see you tomorrow?"

She was amused to find that both men had stood up as she left the table, Richard nodded his ascent at her comment which had been directed at him, the fleeting look of disappointment already vanished from his face. She was aware that she had spent too much time looking at him already, she had to turn to Jamie before he noticed, she did so and found him beaming at her, an unreadable expression on his face.

"'Til tomorrow then."


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the wait - we've just moved and didn't have broadband for a while! **

She shouldn't be there. She knew that, but she had been in such a hurry to see him that she had pushed open his kitchen door calling his name as she came through into his bedroom and living room. The kitchen hadn't seemed any different to usual – there a cereal box had been left out on the side and there was a single bowl in the sink but otherwise there was no sign that the shack was had been occupied by two instead of its usual one. His bedroom and living room were another matter. The room looked as though a bomb had gone off it in. The two nearby chairs that Richard usually sat in after work had been shoved to one side and the television had been left on and had been dragged closer to the bed, she could only guess that Jamie had refused to watch tv on such uncomfortable seating, she didn't blame him. One of the bedside tables held the other empty cereal bowl and she wrinkled her nose when she realised it had been turned into a makeshift ashtray. Well, that would explain the stale cigarette smell. A chair, reduced to bare framework, now held an open overnight bag, clothes spewing out and on to the floor. Cushions were scattered as a makeshift bed and a sleeping bag was scrunched up on top of them. Last night's clothes were accompanying it close by. She did another scan and realised that an effort had been made to make the bed, although it had since been sat on and another neater pile of folded clothing was on the other chair. She smiled at the orderly pile, it wasn't hard to work out who the mess belonged to.

She suddenly felt like an intruder. They obviously weren't there and as the seconds ticked by she felt more and more uncomfortable. She was about to pick her way over the various articles strewn on the floor and return the way she had come when she heard them coming along the beach, laughing at some unheard joke. She decided to wait, it would be fun to see the look on Richard's face when he surveyed her in the midst of the mess that his brother had created.

She moved closer to the window to watch and was surprised to see that they were both in trunks, and they looked damp. Had they been swimming? Clearly Richard had had time for the beach after all. She stood drinking in the first sight she had seen of his legs. They were pale, but then what was she expecting? She was pleased to find that hidden underneath the thick suit material he always wore, his legs were toned and she came to the conclusion that Richard probably hadn't always had the aversion to sport that he now professed to have. His shorts were plain blue and stopped mid thigh, the style suited him, more than regular board shorts would have done. She continued her assessment of his clothing as her gaze shifted up over his shorts and on to his bottom. She had only been able to admire that particular part of his anatomy a handful of times, being careful to ensure that no one else was around and that he wasn't facing her, he was usually looking for something under his desk or furniture. She let her gaze roam now, aware that there was no one around to stop her, it looked muscular and firm and not for the first time did she find herself wondering what it would feel like to be able to run her hands over him, pulling him into her. She continued upwards and realised that he was still in shirtsleeves, _well some things never change_ she thought, but it didn't look like one of this work shirts, even though it was white. It looked finer and lighter, like linen. He looked cool, at ease with himself and for the first time she realised that he might be relaxed. She was beginning to wish that it was her on the beach with him. Why did he continually refuse to relax with her? She moved back from the window, out of sight as they got closer.

"Richard slow down, why are you in such a hurry to get back."

Richard slowed his pace down, but didn't change direction still heading for the shack. "Why can't we stay here a bit longer? It's not as if we're miles away from home...

"I'm burning."

"Well it's probably the years you spent on holiday wearing factor 50 – your body's never been able to acclimatize!" He laughed openly then added rather unhelpfully. "You are possibly the whitest man I've ever seen."

Richard huffed a little and carried on his walk.

"Come on Richie, roll down your sleeves if you're burning. I don't understand why we have to go back." His brother looked at him, willing him to understand, and not to mock him mercilessly for it. Jamie finally cotton on. "Oh. Sorry." Then, decided not to let it go so easily and made a grab for his brother's hair to mess it up, exposing more of the quickly reddening scalp than was already on show.

"Get off!" Then when he continued, he retaliated, laughingly shoving Jamie in the chest and trying to put him in a headlock, "go easy alright? I hardly have any left..."

Jamie retaliated by trying to trip Richard up and bought himself a precious few seconds to put distance between the two of them and get out of harm's way. They stood watching each other warily, grinning at each other, before Jamie reached into his pocket and threw over a small tube. "It's not factor 50, but it should do..."

"No, I'm fine thanks, I'll just get my own."

Jamie frowned at him, "why don't you just use mine...?" then stopped as he finally cottoned on. "Oh my God, you want to clean don't you?

Richard raised an eyebrow, "No! I just want...you know...to tidy up a little..."

"Jesus, you have seriously bad OCD!"

"Shut up!" Jamie continued his mocking using the anally retentive voice he only ever used for his brother. "No I just want...in case um...mum and dad come around..."

"You mean in case Camille comes round..."

"Why would I need to clean on the off chance that Camille might come around?"

"I don't know, probably because she said last night that she might and now you're paranoid that she's going to see you living like a slob?"

"The only thing her visit this morning would prove is the fact that you are an exceptionally messy roommate."

Camille grinned to herself then realised the absurdity of her situation. She had effectively broken into her boss' house, even if he had technically left the door unlocked. Embarrassed she moved away from the veranda doors and stepped quietly back through the debris, through to the kitchen. She would have to time her entry to the house to perfection if she was going to try and catch them as they came back from the beach. She didn't want them to feel like she was spying on them but she also wanted to see Richard's face as she surveyed him standing in amongst the mess. She could hear their voices recede into the distance until they became undistinguishable murmurs.

The conversation continued outside, unaware that their eavesdropper had now left. "Stop trying to change the subject. Why won't you just admit to yourself the possibility that you might like her? It's pretty obvious that you only have to think about the way she was talking to you last night to know that."

"She talks to everyone like that."

"Really? She smoulders with everyone she comes into contact with does she?"

"Yes everyone. She even spoke to you like that last night if you remember..."

Jamie did remember but also knew that there hadn't been anything behind it other than a clumsy attempt to initiate spending some additional time with Richard and his family. To get to know them better. "She was just being kind Richard."

"I know. But she's kind to everyone. It's confusing."

"So you do think she might like you?"

"No. I mean, I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure that she does like me, just not in the way that you mean." Jamie didn't say anything letting Richard continue in his own time. "I don't really know how to describe it...She knows I'm a complete idiot 90% of the time and she still seems to want to spend time with me, and I have no idea why. All I do know is that no one has made this much effort to get to know me for ages. And all I can think of is how rude I am to her the whole time, and selfish. I shout at her even when things aren't her fault just to vent my frustration, and yes she gets grumpy at me but it never seems to matter, because everything always goes back to normal afterwards. And I don't want to feel what I feel for her at the moment because she's basically the only proper friend I have here, the only proper friend that I've had for a while so I don't want to mess it up." Richard had been speaking to the floor, but looked up and saw that Jamie was regarding him with a mix of compassion and friendship.

"Richie, I've seen the way you look at her. And if I've seen the way you look at her then she has too. You might be great at hiding it from everyone else on this island but you work opposite her all day, sooner or later the facade is going to slip and she'll know, and I'm guessing it's already happened. And if she doesn't know already then she probably will when the others get out here. They know you too well for you to lie to them."

Richard nodded. "So basically you're telling me that if I don't make some sort of a move on Camille by the end of the week then one of you will tell her."

"I didn't say that explicitly, but you know what Lucie's like. As soon as she gets one whiff of romance she'll start playing cupid whether it's any of her business or not. You can either do it on her terms or on yours."

Richard creased up his forehead in frustration then looked at his brother in desperation. "I'm not even sure how to do things on my terms anymore. I feel stuck, like if I try and do anything to change now then she won't think its me anymore and she won't like me. It's like I'm too embarrassed to change without her saying that it's ok. And if I do change and manage to ask her out this is still presuming that she won't run a mile."

"Ok, presuming she says no when you ask her out – what then."

"Then I curl up into a corner and die a very slow and painful death from starvation and embarrassment."

"Or..."

"Or I move back to London..."

"...Which you've been wanting to do for ages." Richard shook his head in disagreement. "Richard, you can't spend the rest of your life watching from the sidelines. If you try and you fail, it means it wasn't meant to be and you can get on with your life."

"But I'll lose a friend"

"If she's that good a friend, you won't lose her. You'll probably avoid each other for a week then things will go back to normal."

They had reached the steps of the veranda when they were interrupted by the sound of the kitchen door slamming. The two men looked at each other quickly as they heard her call out "Hello?" They both scrambled to their feet a plan already formulated wordlessly between them as Jamie dived to the kitchen in an effort to block Camille's path into the rest of the house unaware that she had already seen the mess. Richard behind him made a frantic effort to righten the furniture and throw all smaller items under the bed, all the while listening to Jamie make infuriating small talk trying to stall her. The whole process took approximately 30 seconds and by the time Camille had forced herself through the small doorway Richard was perched uncomfortably on his desk slightly out of breath but otherwise pleased that the room no longer resembled a hovel even if it wasn't quite perfect.

She glanced around the room barely able to register her surprise at the change and her annoyance at the fact that she could no longer tease him. He gaze came to rest on Richard. "Hi."

"Hello" he squirmed a little, realising with a jolt that he wasn't wearing his usual attire. He flushed a little, deepening the light tan that the morning outside had already marked on his skin.

She realised he was uncomfortable and tried to placate him. "You look good with a little bit of colour."

He flushed even deeper and Jamie came to his rescue, popping his head from the kitchen, "you're lucky we were here, we only came back for a couple of minutes."

"Where have you been" she addressed her question to Richard.

"On the beach." He looked embarrassed.

"And you're on your way back?" She didn't wait for Richard's answer, "perfect, I was planning on spending some time at the beach today, do you mind if I come too?"

Jamie was now standing behind her. "No, that's great. Come on, I want to go for another swim." He was already steering her out of the door.

Richard made a last ditch attempt to dissuade her calling after Jamie, "I don't think Camille has her swim things," then addressing Camille directly, "maybe you should go home and we can meet you later?"

She was almost at the door when she called behind her, "I always wear them under my clothes, I'll just strip them off when I'm nearer the sea."

He didn't follow her immediately, the thought of her taking her clothes off in front of him was seemingly too much and he appeared to be rooted to the spot while he digested her latest news.

After a few moments he sighed gently and propelled himself off the desk following both Camille and Jamie at a more sedate pace. The rest of the day was going to be difficult.


	6. Chapter 6

Richard had been right. The rest of the day had been hell, but the most pleasant and wonderful version of hell that he had ever experienced, well to begin with. They had walked and talked until they had felt the heat and decided to cool off in the sea. He had had to endure and enjoy the sight of her slowly undoing the buttons on her shirt revealing her blue bikini top. It was the one he had only seen once before when he had thought her a suspect in his first murder case on the island. He had been too preoccupied back them to fully admire her, treating her only as a suspect, and yet the vision of her wearing next to nothing had been indelibly printed on his mind ever since, unable to be erased no matter how hard he tried.

Trying not to be too obvious in his observation of her he watched as she let the breeze catch the now open material billowing it out behind her for a few moments before she helped it flutter off on to the sand below with a relaxed shrug of her shoulders. He then watched with a mixture of fear and anticipation as her hands moved to the waistband of her very short shorts. He got the distinct impression as she wiggled herself out and away from them that she had exaggerated her movements deliberately for him, bending at the waist and standing slightly on her tip toes to help them join the shirt on the floor, kicking them away from her with a flick of her foot, and was grateful that Jamie had gone into the water before both of them, wanting to keep the memory for himself. She was now standing in an even briefer pair of bikini bottoms and he was barely able to tear his eyes away from her. He suddenly felt very hot.

She finally looked up and purposefully caught his eye, smiling recklessly at him with an expression that read quite plainly that it was now his turn to do the same.

He made vague gestures towards the water and stuttered that he would join her in a minute.

She pouted but understood that he was embarrassed, there would still be plenty of time for her to look when he was actually in the water, and after. Getting his wet shirt back on after a swim was not going to be an easy task. She jogged a few steps to the water's edge the plunged in, the water taking her breath away a little. She waded out still further until she was almost treading water, then turned hoping to see Richard struggling out of his own shirt. However she was surprised to find the beach empty, the only sign of him ever having been there, were a pair of shoes and a shirt. She smiled when she realised that in his haste he hadn't bothered to fold it. She looked back to the sea and could see him a little way away from her, the water already covering his chest. She had missed him. She bit back an annoyed smile, rolled her eyes and turned on to her back kicking languidly out, making her way over to him slowly.

"That was quick!"

He raised his eyebrows cheekily at her, the feeling of being submerged had given him new courage, even if the water was completely clear. He felt less self conscious than usual. His tone matched his mood. "You should be grateful I can't accuse you of ogling."

"I thought that was your domain." He shot her a confused look, trying to work out whether she had seen him watch her change on the sand. He was pretty sure that she hadn't, but perhaps he hadn't been careful enough... She threw him a bone "the yellow bikini..."

The pieces of the puzzle suddenly fell into place. "I was not ogling her!" She laughed at how quickly she could rile him when he thought that his honour was under question.

"The fact that you remember who I'm talking about just by me saying the words _yellow bikini _proves that you were ogling her!"

"If a suspect wants to wear next to nothing while I question them then there's nothing I can do about it! If I remember correctly you wore the same thing once..."

If she was pleased at the fact he remembered the first time he had seen her in a bikini she didn't show it. "So you're saying you would have acted exactly the same way if you had been talking to a man in swimming trunks?" She laughed at his inability to answer her. Of course he wouldn't and she knew it. "If she was such an important suspect then you should remember her name Richard."

That's ridiculous, it was months ago, I doubt you can remember the name of last week's suspects, let alone ones from six months ago..."

"Tell me her name and I'll believe that she wasn't just another pretty face to you..."

"You know, I take offense at you trying to sully my reputation like this..."

"What reputation?" He narrowed his eyes at him and she retaliated by splashing him, it felt better to be able to do something physical towards him other than rolling her eyes.

"Careful Camille, it's still an offence to strike a senior police officer..."

"Stop trying to buy time and tell me her name."

It came to him in a flash and he had never been more grateful for the ability to retain seemingly innocuous details of every case he had ever worked on. "Liz! Her name was Liz! Ha!" _That should put her back in her place_, he thought.

"Oh...she was more than a pretty face then...you clearly liked her enough to remember her name. Did you fancy her Richard?"

"This is wholly unfair I'm not sure how much more of this I have to put up with, you asked me to prove I wasn't ogling her by remembering her name and now you're saying the fact that I do remember her name proves the very opposite." She was infuriating and he wanted nothing more than to grab her wrists and pull her towards him in the water. He felt slightly reckless.

He turned to try and argue his case with Jamie, seeking his presence as a way to put the brakes on a situation that was rapidly heading out of his control and found that his brother had allowed the tide to carry him away just far enough so that he couldn't hear the details of their conversation. If Richard was made more nervous by this discovery he didn't show it. Camille didn't give him much time to register that fact either, he was sure she had taken his lapse in their conversation as an opportunity to swim closer.

"I don't see what help he's going to be Richard. I'm pretty sure that you've ogled your fair share of women in London too..."

"Only the very pretty ones." He had spoken so softly that she had almost missed it and he was looking at her with a new intensity that she hadn't seen from him. But before she was able to act on it, it was gone. Whatever he had been thinking of had been locked away. She smiled shyly at him.

"Do you think I'm pretty Richard?" He didn't need to say anything, it would have been better if he hadn't, if he had just smiled that stupid lop sided smile at her. She would have known everything she needed to know.

But instead he decided to try and answer her. "No, you're..." He had meant to call her beautiful but stopped himself when he realised how inappropriate that would be. "I mean yes, of course you're pretty. Well, that's to say, you know, a lot of women on the island are very pretty, in their own way. I mean, take your mother for example."

"My mother?"

"Yes, oh no! Not in that way, that would be weird."

"So you're saying that anyone who thought my mother was attractive would be weird?"

"That's not what I was saying at all!"

"Well that's what is sounded like!"

This wasn't how he had envisioned their conversation. They were in the crystal clear blue waters of the Caribbean, wearing next to nothing, and she was so close that he could almost touch her, brushing up against her could have easily been put down to accident. He should have been able to tell her how he really felt, to hell with the regulations, but true to form he had panicked, lost faith in himself at the crucial moment and looked like an idiot. No, he didn't just look like an idiot, he was an idiot, and he wasn't going to stick around to listen to Camille tell him what he knew already.

The silence between them was charged with the electricity of their unspoken emotions and he was able to hold her gaze for a few moments, both their eyes blazing before the enormity of what he had just said hit home and his embarrassment got the better of him. He dropped his eyes looking instead at the body underneath him in the water, it was the first time he had looked at himself. The image before him didn't reflect the image of himself in his mind. It glowed back at him, almost florescent in its whiteness, and in that moment Camille could see his courage drain out of him as the last vestiges of his new found self esteem vanished. He squinted back up at her and stammered something about being cold and seeing her later and with that was gone, leaving her still fuming.

She wasn't on her own for long, Jamie had soon swum up alongside her. "What happened?"

"Nothing, other than your brother being the rudest and most thoughtless man I have ever met."

"What did he say?"

She fixed him with a look that made him suddenly understand why Richard had such a problem being direct with her. "Why don't you ask him for yourself?"

"Right, yes. I'll um..."

She nodded her assent as his unfinished question, and watched as he waded back to the shore and caught up with his brother. She didn't really want to be with him anyway. She sighed heavily. Why the hell did everything keep going wrong? Could he really be that immune to her? Was she that clumsy in her attempts to tell him? She hadn't thought she was that bad, but perhaps he genuinely had no interest in her. Perhaps it was time to stop trying. She dragged herself out of the water, and picked up her clothing walking forlornly back towards the town.


	7. Chapter 7

Camille hadn't seen Richard for the rest of the day, or for the rest of the weekend. She had hoped that he would he appear in the office on Monday morning, where she could have smiled at him, let him know that she wasn't angry with him that there had never been anything to be angry about. It was a stupid misunderstanding between the two of them, just like everything always was. If she had hoped to make him understand any of this then she remained frustrated. Richard had indeed managed to take the week off at short notice, on the express understanding that if the team needed a senior officer for any reason then he would have to return to work. Instead of being greeted by his usual striding form entering the station on Monday morning she had encountered the more unusual softly spoken and hulking form of the commissioner to deliver the bad news.

Monday had passed uneventfully. There had been nothing to investigate, no paperwork to fill out and she had patrolled the market until she had begun to imagine crime behind every stall. There was nothing for her to do except think about him. She had missed his presence more than she had thought she would. It brought back memories of the week that he had been away, the frustration she had felt at him not knowing if he was coming back. She felt that this was worse. Knowing that he was uncomfortable about how their conversation ended only made her more desperate to see him, to try and explain. She didn't even know where he was. It was highly unlikely that he would still be at his house, not when his family were staying in a hotel, she smiled when she imagined his joy at being somewhere where there was no sand inside, sitting in a conventional room where no flora grew through the walls and where he could get a decent cup of tea. Yes, he was probably at one of the many nameless hotels on the island where he would be free of her for a week. The only way she could possibly think of to see him was to go to his shack, but there was no plausible reason for her to go there, not without revealing her hand.

Tuesday was in danger of being exactly the same as the previous day. She had just about had enough of reorganising her desk, her files, even the office files when finally something came in worth investigating. A burglary. At last something that required a little brain power, although she guessed that it would be the same usual suspects that would crop up when they questioned witnesses. Most probably an open and shut case, but who cared! Fidel was still out at the market, quite how he had so much energy doing such a mundane job she would never know, she put in a quick call to him then called out to Dwayne.

"We've got a job. Grab the kit and let's go to the car!" She was already down the steps before Dwayne had even raised his head from his desk and removed his ice pack.

* * *

She was right, it was an open and shut case. The only thing that had been stolen had been money and it was such an audacious theft that they hadn't even bothered to cover their faces as they had walked down the hotel corridor and broken into a series of rooms. Audacious or stupid. It was probably the latter. It would be easy to track them and arrest them, and there would be paperwork, enough to while away Wednesday morning. All in all a good afternoon's work, and no one would care if she took an extra 10 minutes to gather her thoughts on the beach. She walked from the bar, down the steps towards the sea, stepping out of her shoes and wriggling her toes in the hot sand. She revelled in the sensation of being able to take her shoes off for the first time that day as she looked around. The beach was surprisingly empty, small groups of holiday makers scattered in front of her. She took a path next to the tree line that brought her into contact with the smallest number of them, and basked in the sensation of the shade dappling over her face. She was enjoying her own company so much that she had almost walked on top of one of the families she was trying to avoid. It was such a silent gathering that she nearly walked right past them. She had only stopped as a very slow and deliberate movement had caught her eye.

She paused to watch with interest. A woman in her early 30s was stealthily creeping up to someone with a glass in her hand. It took Camille all of 4 seconds to work out what was going on. Poor old Richard, who was sitting at a table in the shade minding his own business, was about to get a glass of cold water all over him. She couldn't stop the glee that was spreading through her, the giggle that was bubbling in her throat, threatening to escape and draw attention to her presence. He turned at the last moment, saw what was coming and tried to struggle to his feet to get out of the way but it was to no avail. Even with his arms out as a protective measure before him the glass of water hit him squarely in the chest.

He yelped with the shock "Oh you little..."

Camille watched as the woman ran gleefully away cackling to herself , but Richard was too quick for her and had already grabbed both of her wrists, pulling her back to the table.

"Mum, mummy please, make him stop! Please it's not fair!"

If Camille had bothered to glance at either of who she assumed were his parents she would have seen that both of them were watching with slightly bemused expressions on their faces, and that clearly neither of them were prepared to lift a finger to help their daughter. Richard had now managed to drag his sister back to the table and was fumbling around behind him trying to get his hands around the handle of the water jug which she guessed from the condensation contained ice. She was still squealing for mercy when his hand finally made connection and brought the entire contents of the upended jug over her head. She stood there for a moment in shock while the rest of the family roared with laughter.

Richard chuckled to himself for a moment then stuck his tongue into the bottom of his lip in a time old childish gesture, turning to return to his chair while his sister sought the refuge of a towel. He had just picked up his book when he turned and saw Camille. He gawped at her for a moment, her name falling out of his mouth, then reached for his shirt as his entire family shifted their attention to her. She suddenly felt very self conscious. Richard was moving over to her with a concerned look on his face.

"Is anything wrong?"

"No, why would anything be wrong?"

"Because you're here...has there been a murder?" His concern had vanished, damn it he actually looked hopeful.

"No, burglary." She saw him pout a little. "And try not to look so disappointed." She couldn't shake the fact that his parents and his sister were still looking at her with some interest. She turned to them and raised her hand in greeting. Richard suddenly seemed to remember his manners.

"Oh, sorry, this is my mum, Annabel, dad, Jonathan, Jules and Lucie my sister." They all copied her inane little wave, not really sure what else to do. He took her elbow and guided her away from them a little, in the hope that she would get some of her confidence back, away from the watchful eye of his parents and tell him a little more about the case they had. His main worry had been Lucie, under any other situation where she didn't look like a drowned rat he knew that she would have been all over Camille, he didn't want to waste any time waiting for her to dry off.

"Details?"

"There aren't any and you can't help."

"So what are you doing here then?"

"It's an open and shut case Richard so I'm taking 10 minutes out to go for a walk."

"And you just to come to this hotel and walk past my family?"

"Yes, I wasn't looking for you if that's what you mean." But she couldn't put any real emotion into her comment as the fact of the matter was that she had been hoping to bump into him. Well, longing would probably be a better word. She couldn't help but notice that he still had his hand on her elbow as they walked.

"That bored huh?"

"There is nothing to do."

"Filing?"

"Done. And I've even tidied my desk."

"Impressive." Their pace had slowed and they walked on in silence.

"So that's your family?"

"Yup."

"Your whole family?"

"Sort of. Jules is Jamie's girlfriend..."

A wave of relief washed through her although she was careful not to show it. _Not single_. _Thank God_. So he had asked her to the beach on behalf of his brother. The realisation gave her hope. "They seem nice."

"What were you expecting?" She noticed that his hand had moved from her elbow but they were still close, he hadn't moved away from her just yet.

"I don't know, I suppose didn't think there would be so many of them. It's just you've always been so reticent with other people. I sort of got the impression you were an only child. I think we all did."

It had been a light-hearted comment, but something that resembled disappointment cast a shadow over his face for a moment. She didn't want another argument so tried to pick the pace of their conversation again, but he had beaten her to it.

"Am I really that bad? With people, I mean?"

No, of course not." She had said it quickly but not quick enough. His look told her that he didn't believe her. "Richard, you come from a different world to everyone on this island. Everyone here knows everyone else's business. They always have done and they always will. But London's like Paris. You can get lost in the crowd, you don't even have to talk to your neighbours if you don't want to. Can you imagine doing that here?" It was a stupid question given that he lived in an isolated shack and had so far gone out of his way to avoid communication with any of the locals, but one that he was gracious enough to ignore. There seemed to be something else bothering him.

"Am I that bad with you?"

"No. But I know you." She watched a smile touch the corners of his mouth and the frown lessen. "It's not a bad thing to want to be solitary some of the time Richard. You just have to know when to let go a little. It doesn't help when you constantly tell us how much you miss England and how much better it is there than it is here." She couldn't believe that she was able to speak to him like this. What the hell was going on?

She was worried that she had said too much, that he was going to close himself off to her. He had his hands buried deep in the pockets of his shorts (shorts! she thought) and his head was bowed. He seemed to think about shutting her down for a moment then decided against it. "You know, I don't think I miss it as much as I say I do, it's just sort of a habit that I can't get out of now. And I suppose I feel that if I stop saying it then I won't be English anymore. Is that stupid?"

She shook her head. "No. It's part of who you are Richard, that won't change if you stop talking about it. But here's part of who you are too. It's not a bad thing to embrace island life a little, it's not as if people will forget you're English..."

He nodded and for the first time looked at her properly. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Before. On Saturday. It didn't come out properly. I mean, what I was trying to say didn't come out properly...about you being pretty." She thought he was doing a pretty good job at making a hash of it now too, but it was closer than he'd ever come before to expressing his emotions. He seemed to have stopped, unsure of how to go on.

"What were you trying to say?"

"Um. Just that you, um, look very pretty today. Well every day really." She looked as though she was about to cry. Oh God, what had he done now? With a monumental effort she managed to get her emotions under control, now was not the time for crying, she knew it would confuse him. Instead smiled shyly up at him, a small strand of her hair making a break from the main sweep of hair that was secured at the back of her neck and fell forward over her face. Without thinking about it, Richard leant forward, caught it between his fingers caressing it for a moment before tucking it back into its proper place. His hand remained hovering at the side of her face, his fingers almost grazing her ear. He couldn't seem to break her gaze. He was beginning to feel disorientated, unsteady on his feet, could hear a roaring in his ears and feel his breaths shorten even though there was no need for it. He was aware of Camille's rapidly dilating pupils, her tilted head, her slightly open lips before him. Was that an invitation? He was monumentally confused, somehow his fingers had found their way to the back of her neck, his thumb brushing against her cheek. He leant forward closing the gap between them slowly, amazed that she had yet to push him back, ask him what the hell he thought he was doing. He was so close...

"Camille!" Dwayne's unmistakable voice filtered down from the hotel, shattering the moment that two years of sexual frustration had been building to. It was enough to remind Richard of what he was risking. What had he been thinking? His hand dropped from her neck as if it had been burnt and he stumbled back putting a few precious feet between them. He searched her face looking for some sign that he had embarrassed himself by presuming that she would let him kiss her, but there was nothing there except frustrated desire and something else he couldn't name, but that gave him hope to try again.

She gestured behind her. "I should go..."

"Yes, call me if you need any help, or anything else." He blushed slightly and she nodded and smiled enigmatically at him. What the hell did that smile mean? Did that mean she would? He realised that he couldn't bear the idea of not seeing her for another full two days and just as she had turned to go called out after her. "Um, Camille, I'll be in the bar later... if you want to join me for a drink?" She was about to answer when he recognised the Freudian slip he'd just committed. "I mean we. We'll be in the bar later if you want to join us for a drink." His brow creased in frustration and his general ineptitude around her. He could see that she was biting the inside of her lip. Was she trying not to laugh at him?

She nodded. "Save me a seat..." She left him stunned and slightly giddy at her remark as she retreated towards the hotel, willing herself not to look back only to fail dismally at the last hurdle as the steps to the patio came into view. She was relieved to find that he was still watching her.

So not so immune after all then...


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the afternoon had passed by in a flash, partly because of the paperwork that they needed to make a start on but mostly because Camille spent the entire time replaying the earlier conversation she had had with Richard in her head. There was no way that she could have misinterpreted what had just happened, could she? She was aware that she was acting like a teenager but couldn't quite bring herself to stop.She looked up and found Dwayne staring. She clenched her fists; she had spent the afternoon fluctuating between euphoria and frustration. Ten seconds. That would have been all she needed. Ten seconds and she wouldn't have cared about anything, Dwayne could have shouted her name until he was blue in the face and she wouldn't have cared. She had no idea when the next opportunity would be, or even if there would be one. Perhaps she had scared him off?

She had no idea what time she was meant to turn up at the bar. Would it be too keen to go straight there from work? Yes, probably. He'd said they'd be there later, whatever that meant. They most probably wouldn't even be there yet and she was too embarrassed to call. She decided that she didn't want to wait on her own in the bar; she probably needed to change her clothes too, perhaps for something a little more feminine. She headed for home. Back at her house she rummaged through her cupboards, pulling everything out and on to her bed. Why she was nervous, it was just Richard. But suddenly every item of clothing that she pulled out seemed unacceptable. Trousers? Too work like. Shorts? Too daytime. A dress? She really wanted to wear a dress, she remembered the last time he had looked at her in one, how his eyes had travelled over her body, how his compliment had tumbled from his mouth like he couldn't contain himself. But there was no reason to wear one, her mother would surely notice and comment on it. She decided on a skirt. She hoped that it was feminine enough to remind him of the dress, but didn't look like she was trying too hard. She wore her hair up on her neck; she could always take it down later if needed. She didn't change her makeup from work but did reapply it and perhaps put a little more lip gloss on than normal. The change had taken an hour, 7pm.

* * *

"You look nice" she could see the smile her mother was trying to conceal.

"Thank you Maman."

"They're on the terrace..."

"Who are?" Her mother arched an eyebrow at Camille's attempt at feigned innocence. "Lovely family. Richard looks much more relaxed too, it's the first time I've seen him out of a suit."

"I know Maman."

"He looks good." She was watching Camille for an acknowledgement of her last comment, but she was ignored. She tried a different tact. "Are Dwayne and Fidel coming?"

"They should be," It was a lie. Camille hadn't told either of them about the drinks, and with a bit of luck they wouldn't find out about them. Fidel would most probably have hurried home to his family and she had heard Dwayne talking about a date, it was unlikely that he would take her to La Kaz.

"Cocktail?" Camille nodded and a moment later was handed something tall and red and made her way outside. They were easy to find, she could hear Richard protesting about something.

"Look, all I did was lay the bangers. Jamie did the rest."

"You utter liar! It was totally your idea."

"As a joke. You were the one that sucked me into actually doing it. You're the reason I got my one and only caution, that caused me hell when I joined."

The conversation was broken by Lucie who had noticed Camille coming towards them. She waved enthusiastically, "Camille! Hi!" Three faces were beaming at her expectantly and Camille returned the smile, finally resting it on the one person who looked slightly more embarrassed to see her. Perhaps he was regretting his invitation. Lucie had already embraced her and was pulling her towards the table like a long lost friend. "Oh my goodness it's so lovely to finally meet you, Richard always talks about you." Camille shot a quick look at Richard who was studiously ignoring her and had the beginnings of a blush creeping to the edge of his cheeks. Lucie continued on happily. "Sit here." It was next to Richard.

"So what have I missed?" She saw Richard wince a little at the question – so it was obviously something embarrassing. She hoped so.

Lucie piped up again. "I was just enlightening Jules about the time that my brothers blew up some innocent Brownies." Camille looked confused. "Brownies, girl guides..." Camille nodded, but narrowed her eyes at Richard.

"You opened fire on little girls?"

Richard looked horrified and indignant. "No, it wasn't like that at all!" He looked at his brother helplessly, who thankfully came to the rescue.

"We had a sort of feud with the Brownies, Camille - which they totally started." He was very clear on the last point.

Camille looked dumbfounded at how little girls could have started a feud. Richard enlightened her, "they nicked his catapult." She snorted with laughter. "It's not funny! They always stole everything, and then they always hid behind Brown Owl, it was impossible to retaliate, and that's not fair." He looked so indignant about their grudge 30 years ago that Camille was having difficulty controlling her giggling.

"Brown Owl?"

"The person in charge – look, it doesn't matter. Anyway I suggested to Jamie that it would be funny to put bangers in the building they were sleeping in. AS A JOKE."

"It was not a joke."

"It was a joke. The only reason I actually went ahead with it was because you said they weren't coming back and that it would be funny to see what would happen if we laid them anyway. By the time I realised they were all inside it was too late to get the bangers back."

"Oh yeah." At Jamie's sudden recollection Richard threw up his hands in despair.

Camille interrupted before a family feud of their own could be started. "I'm still confused where did you put the bangers?"

Richard was squirming, "under their camp beds."

You put bangers under their camp beds?" Camille knew she should be appalled but was trying to choke back a laugh despite herself.

Richard nodded "but Jamie lit them."

"Oh everything's always my fault."

"Yes, you know what in this instance it is. You even laid additional ones in the undergrowth for when they came out! And stop trying to look all innocent in this. You're the reason I wasn't allowed to leave the house for a month." Jamie was laughing evilly.

For all his huffing, he actually looked genuinely aggrieved. Camille couldn't believe that this still had such an effect on him. She tried to get his attention, "Richard?" He was too busy frowning at his brother. "Richard!" She was louder this time and he finally looked at her. "Stop worrying. Was anyone hurt?"

"No." He sounded like a petulant child.

"Then why does it matter?

"Because I got a caution!"

"But they still let you join."

"I suppose so..."

"and you're still very good at your job..." He looked at her searching for some reassurance that she wasn't being sarcastic then grudgingly accepted the compliment. "So I don't see why it matters." He conceded her point with a nod and she looked up and could see the others smirking at them. She suddenly felt very vulnerable.

"Beers?" They all nodded their assent and she made an escape to the bar. Catherine was already serving at another table when she got there so she leant over and helped herself from the fridge.

"I thought stealing was illegal?"

She looked up to see that Jamie had followed her.

"And I thought I was getting this round?"

"You still are, I just thought it might be fun to get some chasers in as well."

"Chasers? For everyone?" He nodded. "Even Richard?"

"Yes, even Richard." She frowned and he paused as if deciding how to phrase a question. "How well do you know him?"

"Well enough. He doesn't say much about his life back in London. But I know what I need to."

"Which is?"

"He's brilliant, hard working, loves his job..."

"Suck up..."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, he's also pedantic, highly irritating, rude and annoying."

Jamie snorted. "Any redeeming qualities?

"A few. You should know them better than I do."

"It's always nice to hear it from a colleague though."

"Oh I don't think so, I know what I need to and it's enough. Besides, I don't know if I can trust you..."

"You like him don't you?"

"No, it's not like that." Jamie looked entirely unconvinced. "And even if I did it wouldn't make any difference so you don't need to warn me off ok? He hasn't exactly made a move..."

Jamie had a thoughtful look on his face, trying to work out how to phrase his next sentence. "No. I wasn't going to do that, I actually wanted to ask you to stick with him? He needs a bit of encouragement sometimes."

"Why?"

He shrugged but the look she gave him told him he wasn't going to get off that easy. "It's complicated."

"Try me."

"Look, you described him as hard working, right?" Camille nodded. "It's just a defence mechanism. He works because he doesn't think he has anything else."

"I still don't understand."

He was debating how much to tell. "Richard worked hard to buy a better life and his ex left saying that he was never around. I think he now thinks that it's easier to work at something that won't let him down." He paused, already uncomfortable about how much he had already had to give away. "Camille, you have no idea what it's like having to watch your brother morph into someone you don't recognise anymore. But he's been better since he came here."

"That's nothing to do with me." She saw his raised eyebrow. "Honestly, he doesn't see me like that. He's not interested. He told me yesterday that he didn't even think I'm pretty." She had purposefully omitted to mention their chat on the beach earlier that afternoon, wanted to see what else she could push Jamie into giving away.

"Oh God Camille, that's not what he meant."

"Well what did he mean then?"

"He was trying to tell you that you're..." he paused, thought it would be inappropriate to tell the girl his brother's was interested in that she was beautiful. "Look, I'm sure he'll explain, at some point anyway. Just give him some more time. Please?"

She nodded and he left with the five beers wedged in between his fingers, as Catherine came bustling back to the bar.

"Camille you've left the fridge door open."

"Sorry Maman." She made to move away.

"Is that rum?"

"Yes." Her mother gave her a knowing look. "We'll pay for what we drink."

"I know. That wasn't what I was worried about..."

* * *

"As she approached the table she heard her name called out "Camille, Camille! Come and listen to this one it's hilarious."

"No, Luce you promised you wouldn't!" Richard's protest was met by more giggling.

Camille was intrigued. "Is it worse than the Brownie story?"

"That depends..."

"On?"

"On how disgusting you think cow pats are." She dissolved into giggles again.

She looked over at Richard and saw that his hands were massaging his forehead, his eyes tightly squeezed shut. With what looked like a monumental effort he dragged his head up. "Oh for Christ's sake I'll tell her. You're only going to ham it up anyway."

She felt sorry for him, thought that he'd had enough for one evening, at least for now. "You can tell me later. Rum?"

Camille offered him the bottle and a shot glass. To her surprise he took it.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just didn't expect you to do it without complaining, that's all."

"I don't mind rum, you know that." She shrugged.

"I know. It just seems like I'm learning a lot more about you tonight though..." He grunted his displeasure at this latest comment and she continued her gentle teasing. "You know Richard; some people might wonder why you used to play with _French_ bangers."

"Just because they are bangers Sergeant Bordey does not mean they were necessarily French."

"They were though." Jamie butted in again. "You should have seen him, Camille. Every time anyone went to France he had this huge list of things they had to bring back. Dad banned him at one point because he was getting so annoying.

"And I thought you hated everything about the French."

"No, not everything...ow!" Camille hadn't missed the swift kick Richard had administered under the table. She bit the inside of her lip to stop her smile from escaping as Jamie scowled a little then took out a pack of cigarettes giving Richard a derisive glare as he lit up. Jules took up the conversation and for the first time Camille felt that she was no longer under scrutiny. Not that she had minded, but it was nice to be able to relax a little. She studied Richard quickly, his pupils had dilated a little and he was breathing deeply. _So an ex-smoker _she thought to herself_. That was interesting. _

She released the tension in her arms a little by leaning back in her chair and dropping one to her side, brushing against something in the process. She looked down and realised that Richard's hand was adjacent to hers. He hadn't moved it despite the proximity and contact of their skin. He seemed content to leave it there.

Their hands hung side by side, so close, yet separated by a gulf she was unsure how to cross. She felt something else though, the small pocket of air that now seemed to dance with the electricity between them. She couldn't help it; she wanted to touch him again, if only to prove that he wasn't interested when he moved away. She stretched out her little finger tentatively towards him. They met with his and out of the corner of her eye she could see his expression change, there was a mixture of confusion and awakening on his face. His body stiffened a little but his hand remained where it was, turning slightly so that his palm was more readily available to her. She continued gently stroking his skin, trying to get him to relax and was rewarded when he let out an imperceptible sigh.

"You still miss it then?" She kept her voice low, the others were still deep in their own conversation.

He smiled and nodded. "Sometimes. Just the feeling of being relaxed."

"Why did you stop?"

He shrugged. "It's bad for you and I was lead to believe that women don't necessarily like it."

She returned his smile, "Do you regret giving it up?"

"That depends"

"On?"

"On whether my information was correct."

"Well, I can confirm that it is bad for you..." She felt the tension in his arm and toyed with him for a moment, enjoyed his vulnerability before putting him out of his misery, "and I can't speak for all women but I'm not a huge fan of it either." Her fingers were now linked with his, an intimate gesture hidden by the closeness of their chairs from all but the most prying of eyes.

"No whispering in the corner!" Jamie's voice broke their reverie and was quickly followed by the rum bottle being sliding violently towards Richard. He broke contact with Camille in order to catch it. "Drink up, you're missing the party!"


	9. Chapter 9

Richard was feeling decidedly more merry than he ought to. He was in dire need of food and a bit of fresh air before the possibility of making a fool of himself became a reality.

"Hungry?" Camille had noticed his fidgeting.

"Starving."

She turned her attention to the rest of the table. "Anyone else hungry?" They all reluctantly nodded, no one was keen to make a big evening of it and Camille was relieved. There may not have been much going on at the station but she was not about to turn up at work with a hangover. "I can get Maman to give us some menus, "she caught the looks between them. "What?"

"Don't take this the wrong way Camille but it might be time for a change of scene... and I get the impression that your mother has been keeping a watchful eye on us all evening. Delightful as that is it might be nice to have our own space."

"Sorry, its force of habit with her."

"You mean nosey." She punched Richard on the arm in retaliation.

"So where would you suggest then?"

"We could grab something on the way home..."

"Street food?" Richard wrinkled his nose up in disgust.

"There is nothing wrong with street food!"

"According to you."

"Yes according to me. Is there a problem?" She had addressed this last question to Richard but had looked up at the table to get their approval forgetting to temper her expression to something a little more agreeable than the one she used when dealing with Richard. They all shook their heads furiously in a response and Richard couldn't contain his glee at the fact his brother actually found Camille intimidating. His sniggering promptly brought Camille back to her senses and she realised that she was being aggressive. Her face rapidly changed to something more placid and she looked rather sheepish. "Sorry. Is everyone really ok with street food? I know Richard says he hates it but we can do something else if he's in the majority."

She looked panicked in case she had alienated herself from them, but it was Jules that came to the rescue. She recognised a strong woman when she saw one and was secretly relieved that Richard had managed to find himself someone who he wasn't afraid to stand up to this time and vice versa, even if he wasn't prepared to do anything about it just yet, and even if she did still have the upper hand in this argument. She grinned. "To be honest Camille, I think anything at moment would be a good idea, Richard will have to cope."

* * *

Even Richard had to admit that when it came down to it Caribbean street food actually wasn't that bad. He had been expecting something akin to a kebab, but thankfully what had been pressed into his hands actually looked like meat and smelt delicious. He sniffed it suspiciously before taking the tiniest of mouthfuls. Camille was watching him with amusement which turned into a gloat when his mouth turned into a small smile of acceptance.

"Told you." Richard could only narrow his eyes at her.

They hadn't waited for a makeshift table because the others had wanted to see what Honoré looked like at night. They had worked their way down the main street pausing to listen to the music streaming out of the bars. It had amused Camille to watch them. Jamie was the antithesis of Richard, cigarette dangling from his mouth clutching Jules to his chest as he allowed the beer to work its magic and whirled her around the street. It was truly appalling dancing, but she loved the fact that the two of them didn't care, because they were clearly having fun. She wondered if Richard had ever been able to laugh at himself the way Jamie was doing. She stole a glance at him and saw that he and Lucie were watching the others too. They had their arms casually around each other and their closeness almost made her resent the fact that she was an only child. She could see now that he had missed them greatly in the time that he had been away. It was in the casual camaraderie, the gentle teasing, the way that the boys ganged up on their sister. The dancers had grown tired of the music and their little group was now moving on. She hurried to catch up with Richard and could see that he was trying his best to trip his sister up, careful to hold her upright in case he actually succeeded and she fell. She loved this playful side of his. The annoying brother that she had never suspected existed.

He started to behave again when he realised that Camille was walking alongside him. He briefly considered putting his other arm around her, but didn't want to give his sister any fuel for retaliation. He made a compromise of removing his arm from Lucie's shoulders though and hoped that she wouldn't fathom the reason behind it.

"Where are we off to?" Camille was getting tired and wasn't sure she could wander the streets aimlessly all night. Work was boring at the moment but that didn't mean she didn't want to be alert for it in case something interesting happened.

"I hadn't really thought about it."

"Well, you do realise we're headed for the beach right now don't you." That stopped him in his tracks. He'd been so preoccupied with tormenting his sister that he hadn't really registered the direction that they were headed in.

Lucie pounced on this new information immediately. "Oh the beach, please let's go to the beach!"

"We've spent the whole day on the beach."

"So? Oh please let's go to the beach, I haven't been to the beach at night for ages."

"It's exactly the same as the beach during the day Luce, it's just dark." She made whining noises, the ones that she knew would usually get her anything. "Fine, but let's go to the beach at the hotel..."

"What difference does it make? God you're so annoying, Richie please, there's no one here and you have all the light at hotel ruining everything." Well, he couldn't argue with that.

They settled on the sand. There was no talking, everyone suddenly seemed very tired. Camille looked over and could see that Jamie and Jules had collapsed sprawled on the sand a little way from the rest of them, his arms around her, whispering and giggling to each other. Lucie had also thrown herself back onto the beach. Only Camille and Richard remained sitting. She looked over at him. He didn't look overly relaxed, but he looked so different as she studied his face fondly. She allowed her eyes to skim over his torso. He really did look good out of his suit.

"Beautiful view isn't it?" Her thoughts were interrupted and she turned to look at Lucie's face behind her and saw that she had been watching's Camille's study of her brother and was smiling wickedly at her. Camille turned away, embarrassed to have been caught out so easily.

The giggling had died down now and all of them sat in a friendly silence, the time for story sharing and teasing was over. The night sky had a spell binding affect on them all, even Richard who was at that moment wishing he was back at home so that he could see things in more detail. For now he was content with seeing it in all its glory, he never got the opportunity to do this at home anyway, he never ventured further than the veranda which meant half the sky was lost to him under his roof.

He heard a little gasp of realisation from Camille and turned to see her smiling to herself.

"What is it?"

"Nothing much, I just think I've worked something out." His frown pushed her to share her thoughts. "Your telescope..."

"Precision Optical..."

"It doesn't matter what it's actually called. Did you name it after your sister?"

He nodded. "She wasn't quite as annoying as she is now."

They both heard the "Hey" as her foot planted itself firmly in his back. Richard shot her a _see what I mean? _look.

"Well that solves that mystery then. I thought you might have had a crush on someone at school."

"At an all boy's school?"

"Well perhaps not now you mention it!" Richard chuckles to himself then hears his brother clear his throat.

"I, um, I thought we might wander back along the beach." Jamie was already on his feet and had offered his hand to Jules when he saw Lucie standing to join them.

"That sounds like a great idea, come on." Jamie shot his brother an alarmed glance.

"Oh, I was going to go along in a bit. We can catch them up in a couple of minutes can't we?" Lucie looked slightly deflated but sat back down again. Richard ignored her and shot his brother a small smile as they left.

"Since when have you ever wanted to stay on the beach when you had the opportunity to go home?"

"Since I like looking at the stars." Both women were looking at him now.

It was Lucie who spoke first. "Why aren't we allowed to follow them Richard." Richard pursed his lips and shook his head, the model of innocence. Her head immediately turned towards the couple receding into the darkness. She made to get up but Richard grabbed her hand.

"Give them some time."

"Why?" It was a rhetorical question and one that had its answer soon enough. She looked at him excitedly.

"Oh my God, that's amazing!" She squealed and sat down next to Richard, full on excitement raging through her. "Now we just need to get you engaged! I mean to a nice one this time, obviously."

"Lucinda!" She knew she'd overstepped the mark, even without his warning tone. He would have brushed the comment away if they had been alone, perhaps joked about it, she knew that, but Camille being there changed everything. An embarrassed silence hung among them.

She couldn't say sorry, didn't want to draw more attention to it, so instead tried to fill the hush by prattling on for a little while until it became obvious that the evening was now over, ruined by her revelation and the fact that the others were now far enough ahead for her to follow them. She made her goodbyes, leaning briefly to kiss her brother on the cheek before drawing Camille into a quick embrace, much to the latter's astonishment. She left quickly after that leaving the two of them alone.

Camille sighed. It wasn't exactly how she had wanted the evening to go. She had envisioned them lying on the beach, getting Richard comfortable enough with her presence for her to move closer until she was able to lie next to him, even rest her head on his shoulder or his chest. Perhaps he could have even given her an impromptu star gazing lesson, she wouldn't have minded anything that meant she could spend more time with him. But the evening was over, she knew that from the way that he was staring straight ahead, jaw set, oblivious to her presence. She thought she should remind him she was still there and slipped her hand into his. He started a little but it brought him back to reality.

He looked at her then registered how late it was. "You should go home too, work tomorrow." She smiled and nodded as he helped her to her feet, not quite sure if he was dismissing her or because he genuinely cared.

"Will you walk me home?" He looked astonished but nodded his agreement. They fell into step with each other. The walk was short, they hadn't gone too far from the town and Richard was grateful for it, he still felt on the back foot and wasn't quite sure how to talk about anything that wouldn't seem insignificant given what Camille had just leant. He knew that once they were back in the town it wouldn't matter, the noise would provide them ample to discuss and comment on. She stopped him before they moved onto the concrete.

"I really enjoyed tonight."

"Did you?"

She nodded shyly. "I had no idea you had such a large family. I like them." He smiled at her. "If you're in the bar again will you let me know?"

"I don't know what the others will want to do but I'll ask them."

"No, I meant, if _you_ are at the bar Richard."

"Oh. Yes, of course." She turned to move to away from the beach towards the noise but Richard stopped her, a shot of courage suddenly surging through him.

"Camille?" He looked bashful, but her small smile gave him the encouragement he needed. "I was wondering if you, I mean tomorrow evening, if you're not doing anything, if you wanted to, um, have dinner with me," he stammered out the proposal and then seemed to think better of it, "you're probably busy. It doesn't matter." He managed to steal a look at her and saw that she was now grinning.

"Yes."

It seemed to confirm his last statement. "You're busy. It's fine."

"No I'm not busy, I'd like dinner. If that's ok?"

"Yes. I mean great!" It suddenly dawned on him that he had no idea where to take her. "Um, can I send you details tomorrow? But let's say 7.30?"

She nodded and they finally headed back towards the commotion of the town. Her hand slipped into his again and they walked comfortably side by side until they reached her door.

"Thank you." He shrugged. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"7.30?"

"7.30. I'm looking forward to it." She caught his look of amazement and kissed him quickly on the cheek before shutting the door carefully.


	10. Chapter 10

**Happy New Year's Eve everyone! **

Camille woke early the next morning. She wasn't particularly refreshed, she had gone to bed almost as soon as she had closed her front door but hadn't slept. She had lain there thinking over the evening, replaying their conversation, the way he had allowed her to finally get close. She laughed out loud when she realised that "getting close" meant touching his hand. Is that what her love life amounted to now? The truth of the matter was that she couldn't quite believe that last night had actually happened. She looked at her phone. There was no evidence of their conversation ever having existed, no message confirming reservation details for later that day, nothing. Perhaps she had dreamt the whole thing. She thought about texting him to reconfirm, but didn't want to look needy. There was nothing for it but to wait for him to text, even if the anticipation killed her.

As the morning wore into the afternoon her anticipation turned into frustration. Time was dragging despite the growing pile of paperwork to fill in from yesterday's burglary and Richard's lack of communication only compounded her dissatisfaction with the events of the day. She looked at her phone for what felt like the millionth time and wondered again why he hadn't sent a text. When it finally came through she pounced on it almost immediately then felt annoyed with herself for giving in so easily. She hadn't read it yet. Surely she should make him wait a little? She gave in after ten seconds .

_Plans changed slightly given Jamie and Jules' news. Dinner with everyone at the hotel, is that ok? R_

She wasn't really sure what to think. She had spent the entire night and most of the day planning their date and now there were going to be an additional five people on it. She sighed heavily, causing Fidel to look up at her in alarm. She waved away his concern quickly weighing up the pros and cons in her head. It wasn't what she wanted. She wanted a night alone with Richard, but then even if she got that what did she honestly expect to happen? That he would profess his undying love to her in one night? The reality was that she would kiss him goodnight on her doorstep as before, or if she was really lucky he would kiss her. She was being selfish. His family had come to spend time with him and they were here for a week, graciously inviting her to celebrate Jamie's engagement with them. It would look rude and unfriendly if she said no. She reached for her phone.

_ That would be lovely – are you sure they really want me there? C_

She got a text back almost immediately.

_Yes definitely! 7.30. Apologies about my mother in advance. R_

* * *

She was early. Damn. She had been panicking about being late that she had rushed everything and was now here early. She couldn't go home, there wasn't enough time. She supposed she could sit on the beach on her own, but if anyone saw her it would look like she didn't want to spend time with them. There was nothing for it but to head to the bar.

Her panic subsided a little when she saw two familiar figures. Lucie caught sight of her first.

"Camille! We didn't think you'd be early! Come and have a drink with us." She threw her arms around her, dragging her to their table and to Jules who was grinning from ear to ear before departing again towards the bar.

"Congratulations!" Camille offered a hug which Jules gratefully took.

"I'm sorry I've been grinning like this for almost 24 hours now. It's so embarrassing but I can't seem to stop!" She giggled then seemed to realise that Camille might be feeling a little uncomfortable about intruding. "You don't mind do you? About coming tonight?"

"No of course not!"

"Oh good, it's just both of us really wanted you here, and I know Richard did too." She looked over and could see that Camille was trying not to look too hopeful at her last comment. "Honestly you've no idea how he changes when he's with you! It's so lovely to see him looking happy again." Camille bit back a laugh at the fact that Richard was meant to be happy when he was with her, he was so grumpy most of the time.

Jules picked up on it immediately. "It's all just a front you know, he's trying so hard to pretend that he doesn't like you, he's not doing a very good job though, I mean he talks about you all the time on emails and it wasn't really that hard to work out why when we finally met you."

Lucie came bustling over with some champagne and glasses, "I thought I should get the first glass in, you're going to be sick of this by the time you get married, it's all anyone will ever want to give you!"

"Not complaining, fill it up!" Lucie poured enormous portions for them all.

"So what have I missed?"

"We were just talking about Richard."

Lucie's face fell. "God I'm so sorry about last night.

"Why what happened?"

"Oh I made some stupid comment about getting Richard engaged again and he got so grumpy, you know how he is. It sort of ruined the moment."

She saw Jules' face tense with embarrassment "I hadn't even thought about how this would affect Richard, God I'm so selfish." For someone who had just got engaged she actually looked pretty downcast.

Camille reached across the table, "it honestly wasn't that bad. We walked home, he wasn't grumpy at all."

Lucie caught what she thought was an enigmatic smile and nodded. "Oh no you don't get off that easily, what happened?"

Camille was amazed at how easy it was to talk to the two of them, to share her thoughts about Richard. "Oh nothing really, just, he asked me out to dinner."

Lucie squealed. "Oh my God, he never does that sort of thing! When's it for?" She stopped when she saw Camille's face, "oh no it was for tonight wasn't it?"

Camille shrugged, "it's not a big deal, we'll go out another time."

"It is a big deal Camille, this is huge, there hasn't really been anyone since Emi!"

Camille's curiosity was now piqued. "Whose Emi?

"Oh his last girlfriend, well the one he got engaged to."

"Lucie..." Jules was trying to rein her back in, she didn't want Camille to think that she was being used by Richard as a rebound date, no matter how much time had elapsed between his last relationship and now.

"What?"

"Don't you think Richard should tell Camille when he's ready?" Lucie had quietened down a little, she seemed to realise that Richard wouldn't take kindly to having his personal life gossiped about.

Camille shot Jules a look which said _I can't see Richard ever sharing that sort of information with me, can you? _and got a resigned shrug by way of a reply.

"So they split up?"

She could see the two women sharing a look between them debating how much to share and to her surprise it was Jules that caved first. "Kind of. She erm, sort of ran off with someone, well actually she ran off with someone Richard had introduced her to. Pretty much destroyed his self confidence.

Camille thought about this. "He must have really loved her."

"I think at the time he did, I mean I wasn't really around so this is stuff Jamie's told me." She could see that Camille was already looking slightly deflated, there was no way she could compete with an ex girlfriend if Richard was still in love with her. Jules continued quickly. "He's definitely over her Camille. I think part of the reason he hasn't tried since is because he was so embarrassed about being used by her. You know what he's like, he's so sweet and kind underneath all that bluster, and I think once she realised that, she just totally took advantage of him. He worked every hour he could to give her everything she wanted and when she left he just kind of shut down. I think he blamed himself to start with and then realised how ridiculous the whole situation was, probably thought that everyone was talking about him behind his back. Which we weren't, obviously." She stopped to take a breath. "Anyway, it basically just ruined his trust in people. So he started using work as a way to stop seeing anyone, and pretty much has done until now. You do see glimpses of the old him when he's with you though. He's coming back."

She nodded without really thinking about the last statement. Camille was beginning to understand a little more about Richard's social awkwardness, his reticence to have drinks with the team, his complete inability to let any of them in. Her poor, sweet, gentle, pedantic and sometimes very annoying Richard. It angered her that someone had used him so badly.

Both of her drinking partners caught her look and smiled, they could see that if anything, Jules' little speech had made Camille more determined to break Richard out of the cocoon he had built for himself. Camille was suddenly aware that she had hijacked the evening. She turned her attention back to Jules.

"How long have you been with Jamie anyway?"

"Three years." She became embarrassed. "We were friends before we got together, he told me afterwards he'd been trying to get the courage up to ask me out for a while."

"You must be glad he did?"

She nodded shyly.

Camille felt her phone vibrate in her bag. She apologised and rooted around until she found it.

_Let me know when you're downstairs and I'll come and get you. _

She replied quickly

_Here already..._

"Richard?" She nodded. "I give it two minutes before he's here trying to rescue you from us." Camille giggled.

Sure enough 90 seconds later Richard appeared in the bar looking a little wary. He spotted them and came over.

"Sorry, I didn't realise you were early."

"It's fine." Richard was looking at Camille with an expression of diffidence which quickly faded when he realised that he was being studied by the three women at the table. "Um, shall we go to the table? I don't know if mum and dad are there yet, but probably best if we don't keep them waiting."

Jules and Lucie sauntered out giggling and clutching bottles and glasses. Camille and Richard followed at a slightly more sedate pace.

He looked bashful. "I'm sorry about tonight. It's not exactly what I wanted."

"What did you want Richard?"

"Something a little more intimate."

"Intimate?"

"Oh God I didn't mean, you know like that."

"Why not? What's wrong with me?"

"I...nothing. I just meant that I wasn't expecting anything..., you know that dinner's fine...on its own."

She giggled and took his arm. "Relax Richard. We'll see how dinner goes first." He blushed fiercely as they came out on to the terrace. He was saved further embarrassment from her by a new voice. One that Camille hadn't heard before.

"Hello darling, ohhhhh and you must be Camille!" A new voice joined in the ever growing throng. A woman wearing the most hideous pair of shorts covered in various exotic fruits was making her way over to them. She caught sight of Richard's blush. "Oh dear, have I come at a bad time?" She turned to Camille. "He was always constantly embarrassed by everything when he was small too...you haven't been whispering sweet nothings into his ear have you?" Richard blushed even more fiercely debated for a moment about whether it would be better to contest her last statement or let it go, then managed to recover some composure. He looked pained and swallowed hard before making the introduction.

"This is my mother."

"And he's probably told you all sorts of dreadful lies about how dotty I am."

"No, I hadn't quite got round to that yet, but you seem to have done a pretty good job anyway."

"Don't be rude darling, it doesn't suit you. Come along!" She walked back to the table, shouting over the throng of the other diners who all stopped to look at her much to Richard's further dismay. Camille tried to hold back a laugh, failing miserably.

Richard caught her eye and glared at her. "Not one word."


	11. Chapter 11

During dinner Camille had found herself studying Richard's parents more than she had thought she would. All three children clearly took after their mother, the resemblance between them was apparent for all to see, their open faces, their beaming smiles (at least on two of them), even their hair. Only their eyes came from their father. But Richard's mannerisms differed to the others. While Jamie and Lucie had the easy manner of their mother, happy to make friends easily, Richard was clearly closer in nature to his father, shy and reserved, preferring to sit back and listen while other regaled him with stories that he had missed out on while he had been away. That wasn't to say that he was reticent, for the most part he was happy to be goaded into a friendly argument if they wanted it, but he happier still to let them have the limelight, getting his enjoyment from watching them take centre stage. Baiting their big brother seemed to be an enjoyable sport for his siblings and he had spent the majority of the evening trying to defend himself against stories that for the most part involved him, usually to Camille's delight, doing something embarrassing. He was more sincere than they were but she saw that there was a twinkle in his eye that she hadn't seen much of before. She wondered not for the first time that evening if his eyes had perhaps burned a little bit brighter before she had known him.

She had been sitting in between Richard and Jamie and she had been grateful for it. After Jules' revelation she wasn't sure if she could go back to making polite conversation with her, there were too many unanswered questions. Jamie provided a safe option, a night of easy banter and an endless possibility of ammunition she could use on Richard.

"I'm sorry I wasn't downstairs when you got here."

"That's ok, where were you?"

Richard suddenly looked slightly embarrassed. "Um just with Jamie, upstairs."

It seemed that no conversation was private around the table as Lucie waded in. "You are such a liar! I bet you anything Camille, that he was in the bath."

Camille bit her lip and turned to him. "The bath? You take a bath in this heat?"

Richard shot his sister a filthy look. "Um yes, I don't have one at home. Look, I just thought it might be nice, you know. Relaxing. I don't get to have many."

She thought about this. "You know, I have a bath. I never use it but I still have one."

"So?"

"So, if you were that desperate you didn't have to wait for your family to come out to see you. You could have used mine..." Richard looked horrified. "Oh stop being such a prude. What do you think would have happened? That I would have burst in through the door and got in with you." His horror had turned to embarrassment and she could see even in the candlelight that his cheeks were burning. "Oh relax, I'm sure I wouldn't have seen anything through the bubbles anyway."

"I don't have bubbles!"

Camille was giggling and Jamie looked as though he was about to wade in to the conversation. Richard turned to him and used a finger to reiterate his point, "I do not have bubbles in my bath."

"Ok fine. You don't have bubbles in your bath."

"Thank you." Richard breathed a sigh of relief that was short lived as Jamie leant forwards towards Camille

"Except this one time Camille..."

"Noooooooooooo!" They both giggled.

"Maybe one for next time though," said Jamie winking at her.

Their mother cut in. "Why don't you get yourself a dog darling?"

"What ? How on earth is that relevant mum?"

"Because Jamie was about to tell Camille the dog in the bath story weren't you?" She was looking at Jamie who seemed unable to contain his mirth. Camille was incredulous.

"You had a bubble bath with your dog?"

"No! Well sort of. No, actually not really. I just...it got very wet. It sounds worse than it is." Camille flashed him the sort of look that made him want to the ground to swallow him up. "There wasn't anything else in the house and I didn't think that using some of the stuff we had in the bathroom would be too bad so I just put a load in and gave her a wash."

"Ok..."

"Oh my God, you're missing out the best bit!" Richard flashed his sister another look filled with brotherly loathing but she was too far away to kick. "Jamie came back to find him with a towel wrapped around his waist, stinking of expensive bath oil, while the bathroom looked as though it was bubble land."

"I didn't know how much you were meant to put in! Plus, she kept trying to get out, it was a nightmare trying to keep her in the bloody thing. That's why I was wearing a towel. I wasn't taking a bath with my dog, or having a bubble bath on my own."

"So, you've never had a bubble bath." She watched the blush spread across his cheeks again, clearly some distant memory or a girlfriend past was surfacing in his mind."

He tried to change the subject. "I bloody loved that dog."

"Oh here we go..." Lucie was playing a mini imaginary violin while Jamie impersonated Richard a little too theatrically. "The only female not to leave me, to love me unconditionally, through thick and thin...

Camille snuck a look at Richard and could see that he was giggling along before his napkin was removed from his lap and Jamie was throttled with it whilst still in his chair.

"I'm glad you find my utter failure at any semblance of a love life funny..."

"Only your very many recent failures. The heyday of you jumping out of a first floor window to avoid an angry father will be forever cherished in my mind..."

Richard choked on his wine and turned to Camille, "that was a very long time ago and nothing happened, he just got the wrong end of the stick."

"So you jumped out the window for no reason."

"Pretty much."

She gave him a small smile. "Somehow I don't quite believe you."

He smiled in return. "Your faith in my romantic skills are somewhat endearing but completely misplaced."

"Oh I don't know, you don't seem to be doing too badly." The last part had been spoken as a whisper, meant only for him as he felt a hand above his knee and blanched a little at the thought that the angle of her arm might be spotted by the others around the table. She kept it where it was though, her grip just firm enough for him to know that it wasn't a mistake, that it was meant to be there, her thumb stroking the outside of his leg gently. If Jamie noticed anything then he made no reference to it and Richard began to relax a little.

"So what's your story Camille?" She looked up to find that Richard's mother peering around the other side of her son.

"I'm sorry?"

"What's your story? Why are you here with Richard?"

"Mum!"

"I'm just asking darling, there has to be a reason, she's far too pretty for you."

Richard decided to ignore the fact that his mother had already assumed that they were in a relationship, hoping that by not drawing attention to it she would let it drop. He muttered "thanks very much," while Camille was trying to stop herself from laughing again.

"And she's French darling, it's very exotic."

"Oh my God." Richard was staring at the sky, willing the evening to be over. He hoped that this wasn't going to put Camille off too much, he quite wanted the opportunity of taking her out properly. He looked over and saw that she was still biting her lip giggling, perhaps it wasn't so bad after all.

"Boo...,time to stop, he's had enough." Camille heard the warning came from his father, the first time that he had deigned to get involved and the pet name for his wife took her somewhat by surprise.

"Oh I didn't mean it in a bad way, just that Richard's French is awful." She turned to Camille. "It's so funny, he hasn't really had any contact with the French since his French exchange."

"You had a French exchange? When was this?" She was looking at him excitedly.

He looked decidedly unenthused. "When I was at school. We all had to have them. They tried to match us up with people they thought were similar to us, but I ended up getting a sports crazed neaderthal."

"Is that why you stopped?"

Richard shook his head as his mother cut in again. "Oh no dear, I think he was too embarrassed by what happened that he could never bring himself to sign up to get another one."

"Mum, do we really have to tell Camille this story. Any chance you could leave me with a semblance of dignity at the end of the evening?"

Oh darling, learn to laugh a bit more. It's fun!"

"So what happened?"

"Oh, it's not a very long story, but I was getting ready for dinner with some friends and I was drying my hair and this little chap, _Guillaume_, I think his name was, pushed open my bedroom door thinking it was the bathroom." Camille looked confused but knew better than to ask as Annabel ploughed on. "Well it was so embarrassing because I was completely naked in front of the mirror. Poor boy. I don't think he'd ever seen anything like it. He stood there for a full five seconds not knowing where to look or what to do. And he couldn't speak very good English. I think he was trying to remember the words to apologise. In the end he just stumbled back through the door before I had a chance to reach for a towel. I don't think he said anything to me for the rest of his stay."

The entire table was hooting with laughter, and Camille found herself joining in, she couldn't help it. Richard's mother was a complete revelation to her, so fun and full of energy, a complete contradiction to Richard. She snuck a quick look at him and was relieved to see that he had a smile on his face and was chuckling quietly to himself. The passage of time had clearly erased a little of the emotional scarring that the incident had had on him.

She chided him gently. "And you never had another French exchange?"

"Oh come on, how could I? I was the guy with the naked mum! That stuck with me during my entire time at school. I thought Chinese was much safer, fewer people did it." She chuckled and the dinner continued in earnest.

* * *

The rest of the evening had passed in much the same vein, with Richard gamely fielding any shots that were lobbed at him. It had turned into quite an entertainment as far as Camille was concerned and was therefore with much reluctance that she had bid goodnight to them all after Annabel had practically force fed her chocolates, not taking no for an answer. It was a longish walk but it passed quickly and amicably enough and Richard was content to find that Camille's hand had found his way into his again.

"Why do you find your mother so embarrassing Richard?"

"You have seen the shorts haven't you?"

She giggled. "The shorts are fine, you're not embarrassed by those surely?"

"I suppose not. I mean, I've had a long time to get used to them, she's been wearing them since 1982."

"And they haven't worn out yet? Impressive."

"I know, it's a miracle. They really should have split at the back by now."

She gasped and hit him playfully. "You should respect your mother more Richard. She clearly loves you a lot."

"I know. It's just when you've had decades of stories like tonight, you sort of forget to laugh at them. She is amazing, she just sometimes doesn't know when to stop."

"Then perhaps you shouldn't let them annoy you so much. Loosen up a little, laugh. That's all she's trying to do." Richard nodded and they walked on in silence. He glanced over at Camille who looked as though she was deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I was just wondering what the cowpat story is about?"

"Ah." Richard had been hoping for something else, something perhaps a little deeper.

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"What's the cowpat story about?"

Richard smiled enigmatically at her as they arrived at her door and they paused as Camille decided what to do. Should she invite him in? Would he expect to be invited in? She didn't want to give him the wrong impression, but equally wasn't sure if she could hold out much longer.

"Can we save that for another night?"

She nodded and he could tell she was about to ask why. He sighed. "It's just, at some point I'd quite like to kiss you, and I think I might have a better chance if you don't hear that particular story."

She giggled and they stood on her doorstep awkwardly for a few more moments.

"Does that mean you're going to ask me out to dinner again?"

"Well, I was hoping that tomorrow might be ok?"

He knew the answer to his question before she spoke, her crestfallen face telling him everything he needed to know.

"I can't. I said I'd spend tomorrow with Maman. I'm sorry. I really want to." He nodded and they stood in silence, he didn't dare ask again in case she had used the mother as an excuse to get out of seeing him. It was finally Camille that spoke.

"I could do Friday? It might be quite busy because it's the weekend but if we went somewhere out of town we'd probably get a corner table or something..." He didn't reply and she suddenly felt as if he was going to turn tail and run. "Well?"

"I don't really know anywhere out of town, do you want me to look?"

"No that's ok, I know somewhere, just pick me up at 7." He nodded but didn't trust himself to speak without ruining the moment. "Well, I suppose I should say goodnight then."

He leant in to kiss her, his lips close to the corner of her mouth, she only had to tilt her head a little to draw him into a full on kiss. Their lips grazed momentarily before he broke away smiling. "I um, I'll see you on Friday?" She nodded mutely. He cupped her chin pulling her to him for one last chaste kiss. "Good." She was left at the door staring after him.


	12. Chapter 12

**See below for authors note**

It was with some trepidation that Richard pressed the bell on Camille's door. He still couldn't quite bring himself to believe that he was going to dinner with her. His mother was right. She was far too pretty for him.

He hadn't spent long getting ready, but it was still longer than he would have otherwise have taken. He was nervous, the arrival of his family had meant that his wardrobe had expanded into something that could warrant preparation, even if it didn't usually and he knew that she would no longer view his suits as acceptable. He hadn't ever seen his clothing as something he needed to worry about, but tonight night he had panicked, pulling on a white cotton shirt and blue chinos, then changing his shirt to something he thought was more "island", then realising how ridiculous that made him look and changing back again. He stared at himself in the mirror. God he was boring. Blue and white. He wished he could be more exciting for her, but he supposed for now chinos and cotton would have to do, anything else might seem a little too try hard. There was always next time, wasn't there? He hoped so. He studied himself again trying to will confidence to run in his veins, to see what she saw, but to no avail.

The door opened and she was in front of him. Resplendent in a dress that he had never seen before, but which took his breath away. A long row of buttons lined her torso, the first few undone and to his mind veering dangerously low towards her cleavage, his eyes skimmed the join where the body of her dress gave way to a full skirt which ended just above her knee then skimmed back up to her torso again. Camille watched him and smiled when she realised where his eyeline had settled.

"Hello."

He gave a start, embarrassed that he had been caught checking her out so blatantly and dragged his eyes back to her face. "Hello." She took a step closer towards him and he could have sworn that he could hear his heart beat thump manically beneath his shirt. He could feel her hands on his chest now and was terrified of what was about to happen. But she sensed his reticence and slid her hands up to his shoulders, kissing him briefly on the cheek.

"You look incredible."

She blushed. "Really?"

He nodded and before he knew it her lips had found his, and suddenly all the reservations he had before about being seen or not ready suddenly vanished as his arms found her waist and he pulled her into him, her mouth opening a little more under the pressure of his. Her hands were everywhere, in his hair, on his neck, stroking his face all in turn and it was with a very large effort that he suddenly remembered to breathe.

He looked bewildered at her. "What was that?"

"Didn't you like it?"

"Yes of course I did! I was just sort of expecting it at the end of the evening rather than the beginning!"

She shrugged. "I know. But this way we don't have to think about it all evening, and you know that I want to kiss you. So you don't have to wait for the right moment, you can just do it."

Richard laughed and took her in his arms again, kissing her a little more gently this time. When they broke for air he held her close, his fingers woven through her hair and they swayed a little, the adrenaline running through them making them slightly unsteady. It was Camille who broke the silence this time.

"We should probably go, you know. We have a reservation." Richard murmured something but made no effort to move. "Richard?"

"I um, I just need a moment." She giggled and leant closer into him again, feeling his fingers tracing their way down her arm until they found hers.

* * *

The restaurant she had chosen was further out of town than his little house was, so they took a taxi, Richard panicking that the news they were going to a out to dinner together on a Friday night would be all over Honoré by the time it returned, but Camille seemed entirely calm. The restaurant itself seemed, from the outside to be nothing more than a beach shack that someone had converted into a makeshift restaurant and to his mind looked a little ramshackle. It was not somewhere he would have brought Camille to for their first date and he breathed an internal sigh of relief that this had been her idea and not his. Still, if it was somewhere she knew about then he was willing to concede that it probably had a good reputation. The seating had been arranged on the beach in a less haphazard manner than the shack itself, each table had its own space which Richard was grateful for, the last thing he wanted was people listening in on their conversation. The sand was bathed in both moonlight and candlelight and he was relieved to note that the whole set up was romantic without trying too hard. He began to relax a little but started a little when Camille took his hand and lead him to the entrance, still unsure if he wanted people to see them together, but if she noticed she said nothing, beaming at the maitre d as they followed him to a table at the edge of the dining area he handed them menus. However, once he had disappeared she looked over at him glaring.

"Are you ashamed to be seen with me?"

"No, of course I'm not." Richard was beginning to squirm in his chair, unsure of what he had done to upset her.

"Then why are you acting like you don't want to be here?"

"I'm not! I didn't realise I was. I just..." he scrabbled around for the right words and realised that he wasn't going to be able to lie to her. "I'm just worried that people will think it's odd that you're with me. I don't want you to be embarrassed."

"Why would _I_ be embarrassed?"

"Well, I haven't exactly got the best reputation on the island have I? Couple that with the fact that what we're doing isn't strictly within regulations is it?"

She smiled at him. "You still don't really get island life do you?" He looked confused. "It doesn't matter if we want to be together. We just have to make sure that we tell the commissioner and keep things professional in the office. Do you think you can do that?"

"Are you sure? I mean the regs say..."

"I don't care what the regulations say, and neither does anyone else out here! If we do our jobs well then that's all that matters. Ok?" Richard narrowed his eyes, not quite prepared to believe her just yet but decided to let her get away with it.

They ordered their food and drinks and in time settled into their usual stream of conversation. Richard was desperately aware not to talk about work but as the pauses grew ever longer to the point where even the background noise of the sea washing against the sand became intrusive, he thought he was going to have to bring it up. However Camille got in there first, evidently waiting for the right moment to bring up something a little more delicate.

"Why haven't you found the right girl Richard?"

He looked taken aback for a moment; fork stopped midair on the way to his mouth, confused at why she would want to know, then shrugged. "I don't really know. I mean I tried and then you know the last one just convinced me that it wasn't worth it."

She settled her features into something she hoped conveyed polite interest without being too nosey. He huffed. "I know you know Camille. Jules told me."

"Ah." She wrinkled her nose a little. "Sorry."

"It doesn't matter. It's probably more of a relief that I don't have to tell you. I'm not exactly good with that sort of thing." She nodded and he sighed realising that he wasn't going to get out of her question that easily. "I think part of the problem is mum and dad. They put out this perfect vision of marriage, it's sort of overwhelming." He paused. "You know I asked him once, about why he let mum get away with so much. "He said that after giving him 3 children and a creating a home for us all for almost all of his life that she was pretty much entitled to get away with whatever she wanted because he couldn't imagine his life without her. I mean she's given her entire life, for us. I just can't imagine any woman doing that for me." He paused, unsure of how to go on for a moment. "Anyway it wasn't too bad at first because there was no pressure; it was just about going out and having a good time."

"Like jumping out of women's windows?"

He smiled to himself. She realised she had broken his train of thought. "Sorry, carry on..."

"No, I mean it's nothing, all I was going to say was that there came the point when I realised that my parents were married and had already had me by the time they were my age, and it became this _big thing_. You know, I had to find the right one. And the more I wanted it the harder it was to find her. And now I'm in my 40s and I still haven't found anyone. I mean let's face it, I must have been pretty crap at it, I don't think I've ever ended a relationship on my terms. God I'm sorry, this is a pretty morbid conversation isn't it?"

"No, I think it's the most you've ever told me about yourself." There was a moment of contemplation between them. "Just out of interest what makes you think you're the only one who's ever had relationship problems?"

He snorted. "Oh come on, you're not honestly trying to tell me that you've found dating hard are you?"

"Yes I am. Why shouldn't I find it just as hard as you?"

"Oh yes, all of those hearts you've had to break along the way clearly weigh heavily on your conscience, do you carry them around with you in your handbag?"

"What makes you think I've broken anyone's heart?"

Richard didn't say anything but Camille clearly caught his drift. "What? Just because _you_ think I'm pretty means that I've never had my heart broken?"

"Well..."

"What? So all my relationships haven't worked up until now because I've been too busy dumping people?

"Sorry."

"I've only ever dumped one person in my entire life and that was when I was 16."

"Seriously?" Richard looked incredulous.

"Yes, seriously." He looked up at her shyly, finally beginning to understand that they might be on more of an even keel than he initially imagined.

"You've really never dumped anyone?"

"Oh God please don't make this into a big deal I feel insecure enough as it is."

"No I'm not, it's just surprising. I mean, I can't imagine anyone stupid enough to never want to see you again."

She smiled shyly and he began to colour when he realised what he had said. "Well you know, I suppose I just haven't met the right guy yet." She looked at him hopefully and he held her gaze for a second before looking at the table and emitting an embarrassed cough.

She topped his glass up and watched as his took another sip. He put his glass down, "You know, I'm sure getting you drunk is meant to be my job..."

"Oh I have my reasons..."

"Which are?"

"I want to know about that cowpat story."

"Oh come on Camille, I thought I had already explained why I don't want to tell you..."

"Well we've already kissed now, and I'm not going to be put off that easily."

"Ok fine, but you have to remember that this happened a long time ago. I mean a really long time ago..."

She nodded her head sagely.

"Look it's really not that big a deal. Jamie and I wanted to blow some stuff up, so we put bangers in a cow pat."

Camille was looking confused. "Ok, how is that bad?"

"Because Jamie told me the wind was coming from a different direction than it was."

"So?"

"So I ran the wrong way."

"Oh." Then "OH! Oh my God that's disgusting!"

"I told you!"

"So why wouldn't you want me to kiss you?" He pursed his lips, willing her to put the pieces together. "Oh please tell me that you didn't get it in your mouth?"

He bit his lip, deciding whether to lie or not, but she was too quick for him. She threw back her head and roared with laughter.

"It's not my fault; I looked up at the wrong moment.

"Why did you open your mouth?"

"I honestly have no idea; I think I was probably screaming!"

He was at least grateful that he could make her laugh. Really laugh. Not the polite giggle that he had heard so often from her and indicated that he was vaguely entertaining, but the type where tears threatened to well up in her eyes and where people were looking.

He had spent the rest of the evening trying to make her do it again. Telling her every embarrassing story he could from his childhood, not caring how it would make him look, just wanting to hear her laugh again. The alcohol helped. He vaguely remembered finishing the wine and Camille having a cocktail, but he didn't care. It was with some reluctance that he paid the bill and gathered their things.

It wasn't far to walk back to Richard's and Camille took the opportunity to prolong the evening. She wasn't quite ready for it to end just yet. "Can I walk you home this time?"

"If you like." He wasn't prepared to admit it but he was fairly disappointed by her question. He had been hoping to take her back home himself, perhaps try that kiss on her doorstep again before bidding her goodnight. Nothing too forward, but something to establish their relationship a little.

The walk was everything he could possibly have wanted for them, cool, breezy, lit by stars, and yet he couldn't enjoy any of it. His mind was too preoccupied with thinking of a way to politely end the evening. Should he invite her in for a drink? Or ask her if she wanted him to call her a taxi? He desperately wanted her to stay but didn't want her to think that he was pushing her into something, even though God knows he wanted to. He had his arm around her, it felt better than he could ever have imagined, as she leant in to him, her head resting lightly on his shoulder, her hand looped lightly around his waist walking contentedly in silence.

When they were at his door he leant in to kiss her and she pecked him on the lips once then backed away. "You don't mind do you? It's just that story..."

"Which story?"

"The cowpat one..."

"Oh my God are you serious?"

She giggled mischievously. "No, not serious." He drew back to chastise her for her teasing before she pulled him into a longer kiss this time, one she had no intention of ending and he realised that both the drink and the taxi wouldn't be needed.

**A/N the next chapter is a little racy, which means that I might change the rating to M - please adjust your settings if you want to continue reading!**


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